


This is finding infinity

by Angelicat2



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Flashbacks, Galra Keith (Voltron), Gen, Keith is sensitive to quintessence, M/M, Mute Keith (Voltron), Nightmares, Others show up - Freeform, Panic Attacks, Past Experimentation, Team as Family, Temporary Mute Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-29
Updated: 2019-01-09
Packaged: 2019-07-20 06:52:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 40,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16131935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angelicat2/pseuds/Angelicat2
Summary: Shiro is surprised one day when a half-Galra named Keith is thrown into his cell. Turns out that the guy can talk to the Red Lion, a part of Voltron. The two escape to find the rest of Voltron, meeting many people along the way, and getting close to each other all the while.





	1. A Galra and a Lion

Shiro laid on his cot. He was in his cell, alone like always. After he had defeated the past champion, he had been put in this cool lonely cell. He'd only been let out to go to the Arena or visit the infirmary or if things were worse, the druids. His food, if you could call it that, was brought by sentry everytime. 

This cell was nice compared to the communal ones that housed the other prisoners. It was a bit warmer, had clean water from a pump in the corner, a slim cot for a bed, a toilet, and the lights turned on and off in sleeping cycles. Shiro couldn't complain about his living conditions, but if he could, he'd make sure none of this had happened. That Sam, Matt, and he had never went to Kerberos. That they hadn't gotten captured by purple aliens only to be tortured and forced to kill others. That Sam was okay and Matt never had to get hurt. That they would be back on Earth where they all belonged. 

Shiro had wanted the stars. Even now, he wanted to see a black hole, check out other planets, meet peaceful aliens. Maybe even help those aliens. But everyday, he wanted to go back home. He didn't really have anyone specifically to go back to. His grandpa had died just after he had graduated high school. His parents were both gone, most likely dead. He had no siblings and had never grown up with any in his life. His ex-boyfriend, Adam, broke up with him before Kerberos.

No. Shiro didn't really miss the people on his home planet. But he did miss the desert. He wanted to watch another golden sunrise, watch as the colors paint the sky in hues of pastel pinks, yellows, oranges, reds, and blues. He missed driving his hoverbike off the cliffs without a care in the world. He missed the fresh, dry air and the familiar Milky Way and its stars that mapped the sky. He missed it all. 

A loud bang echoed around the room, pulling the man out of his thoughts. Hearing a few more sounds, he frowned as he thought of his internal clock he'd timed out himself. It wasn't close to mealtime nor any match. What was going on?

“Get in there,” a guard's rough voice called through the small gap in the door as the door itself opened, “Stop fighting, and it'd go easier on you.”

Shiro sat up as another prisoner was shoved inside with him. The guard laughed before stating something in Galran, leaving after a good kick to the fallen alien's side. Shiro waited as he stared at the other.

“Are you okay?” He asked hesitantly, not really sure how to interact with the other since he'd been alone for probably months now, “If there's anything I can do-”

The alien looked up at him and he lost his breath in a good and bad way. It was a Galra in front of him, dressed in the rags he wore himself. Yellow sclera surrounded dark purple eyes. Dark black purple-tinted hair nearly covered them as medium purple skin colored the other. Pointy ears barely poked out of the ruffled hair as one twitched slightly. The Galra glared slightly, getting up. He was quite a bit shorter than Shiro, coming to his chin probably. He was slim yet had plenty of muscles.

And he was very beautiful. Shiro cursed himself as he continued to stare. He should have been mad that a Galra, the very aliens who had caused this whole issue, was in his cell. He should be angry that the other had yet to even speak to him.

But he wasn't that way. He only wanted to help the other who seemed just had much stuck into this as he was. The Galra continued to watch him carefully before slinking into the corner. Shiro repeated his earlier question but the other just turned his back to him and curled up into a ball. Shiro sighed softly as he shifted on the cot. Exhaustion dragged him down as he soon fell asleep.

When he next woke up, Shiro blinked at the somewhat brighter lights. It must have been “day time” again. Glancing to the side, he caught a glimpse of the other alien who was shivering some in his sleep. Shiro frowned as he took up his thin ratty blanket, gently spreading it over the other who stopped shivering as much. Looking about, Shiro decided he must as well as get his usual morning workout done while the new roommate was out. Going to the other corner, Shiro did some push ups, jumping jacks, and setups. Starting on his planks, he held himself in position as he heard a sound. Holding himself on his elbows, he looked over to the other.

He had missed it last night, but his cellmate had a thin tail with a small tuft of equally fluffy hair. As he watched, the tail wove itself around in the Galra's sleep. Twitching here and there, it thumped the cold metal as the other buried his head under the blanket. Watching curiously as he continued to exercise, Shiro frowned as the other twitched violently in his sleep. Moments went by before he really started to panic, legs fighting the blanket and arms yanking at his hair. By now, his tail was repeatedly thrashing into the floor, creating a small sound. 

Shiro got to his feet before he carefully approached the other who got worse, clawing at the hard steel beneath his nails. He could see now that the other's lips were moving frantically. Kneeling down, Shiro placed his hand to the other's back, rolling him over to him.

“It's okay,” he stated smoothly as the smaller struggled against him, “You're okay. Come on. Come on, buddy.”

Panicked eyes opened tiredly as the young alien looked up at him, mouthing a few words without a single sound before falling back into a calm sleep. Shiro didn't know how to read lips very well, but he was sure the other stated something about a dad. Frowning, he continued to hold the other, keeping him warm throughout the night.

…..

The next time the younger wakes up, Shiro is still holding him, deep in thought. Pulled out of them when the other shifts, he blinked down at the other who studies his face. The Galra narrows his eyes before nodding, gently pushing Shiro back a little to stand up. The tail wraps itself around his waist.

“Hey,” Shiro greets as he smiles softly, “I was wondering when you'd get up.”

The other tilts his head curiously, hair sliding into his eyes a little. For being an alien, Shiro sure can read his expressions, maybe even better than he had anyone else. The other was a bit guarded at the statement but not badly agitated. Shiro glances at the doorway to see two small proportions of “food” sitting in the cell. Nodding to them, Shiro grabbed them both, placing one down by the other who raises a brow.

“Eat,” Shiro gently commands as the alien frowns, “We have to eat whatever we can.”

The other nods warily as he grabs the hard piece of stale bread-like food. Ripping into it, he chews like it's not cement hard. Shiro blinked before taking a bite of his goo. Cringing at the aftertaste on his tongue, he watches as the smaller devours everything in front of him. Pushing the bread to the other, he smiles at the frown the other has.

“You need it more than I do,” he shrugs before eating a bright white fruit of some sort, “Besides, I can't eat it anyway.”

The other's brows move down.

“My teeth aren't sharp enough,” Shiro explains, finishing up his meal, “I guess the Galra have much sharper ones. Humans don't.”

The other just stares and Shiro begins to wonder if he can understand him. While most of the prisoners were given translators at some point, Shiro knew they sometimes malfunction or didn't get one at all. Sometimes, the prisoners tried to rip them out of their necks, scared and hurt at the tiny device they could feel for days, if not weeks, after. He isn't even sure if the other will respond to him, but he tries anyway.

“What's…” he pauses for a moment, “What's your name?”

He doesn't answer, only stares with distrust in those bigger eyes. Shiro talks on.

“They call me the Champion around here,” Shiro spits out unhappily as the other's brows jump up, “But my name is Shiro.”

The smaller continues to look at him. He looks hesitant, biting his lips with a sharp fang until it draws a drop of blood. Shiro doesn't push him.

“It's okay if you don't want to talk,” the other gives him a surprised expression, “Sometimes I don't want to either.”

The alien watches him still before moving a hand. Purple fingers form gestures slowly but Shiro just thinks it's because the other is stretching them. Moments go by before a fire flares in the alien’s eyes and he motions more rapidly. 

“What are you-”

It comes to Shiro. He's using sign language. 

“Woah, slow down,” Shiro places his hand on the Galra's shoulder, “I know sign language, but I'm rusty. Take it slow. Patience yields focus.”

He huffs silently before his eyes go wide, ears standing tall. His tail falls to the floor as he stays frozen. Moments pass before he moves his hands again.

“Your name's Ke..ith? Keith?” Keith nods as a tiny smile lights up his face and he signs more, “But they call you Yorak?”

Keith nods again, more happy than before. Shiro smiles back, excited. 

“How do you know sign language?”

Keith tells him the story as he has the other pause once in awhile to let him fully figure out the signs. Apparently, Keith had grown up with a book that held Earth sign language. It made sense in a way. Astronauts sometimes took books with them to outer space to entertain themselves. Someone could have gotten it in the wreckage of a ship. If the Galra were at Kerberos, what's to say that other aliens didn't come closer. 

Keith points at him.

“Me?” Shiro asks curiously, “I learned it in school. It was one of my classes. Admittedly, not one of my good classes.”

Keith tilts his head and Shiro laughs at the cat-like resemblance he has.

“I had pretty good grades in all my classes but that one,” he shrugged sheepishly before gasping mockingly at Keith's response, “Keith! I'm not dumb.”

The look on Keith's face says otherwise but soon he's snickering silently along with Shiro. Shiro relaxes as he watches Keith whose tail is wagging around on its own. Moments go by before the air turns serious again.

‘What...happened to your voice?” Shiro asked as the other starts to tense, “Don't need to answer if you don't want to.”

Keith signs a few times before looking back at him.

“Why do I have this arm?” Shiro stared down at the metal attached to his flesh, “It was a match at the Arena. My opponent...got the jump on me. Before I knew it, my arm...was gone and I was bleeding out. The druids somehow stopped the bleeding and then Haggar made this arm for me.”

He hates his new arm. Hates what it means. Hates how he got it. He still remembers the pain as sharp teeth shredded into his skin, snapping bones and muscles. Before this adventure and chaos, he thought the most pain he'd go through on a daily basis was from his right arm and his disease. He never knew that this pain could be so much worse. He could feel it burn right now. Phantom pain flashed through his non-existent arm.

Something touched him and he whipped towards it to see Keith's worried face, which was strange coming from a Galra. Shiro had only seen boredom, hatred, and cruelty on the species’ faces so far. Keith signed something.

“You got into a big match too,” Shiro muttered as he watched, “You got distracted for a moment and the next, your opponent grabbed you and tore open your…”

Keith pulled down the black undersuit part on his neck. Somehow, his was higher up than Shiro's had been, covering all of his neck up to his chin. What Shiro saw made him feel angry.

Two large slashes ran parallel across his throat, starting up his left side and down his right. They were older wounds, older than Shiro's ones on his stump, but not much older than that. They cut right over his voice box that it was a wonder Keith was even alive anymore.

“Oh, Keith,” Shiro stated as he rubbed his own arm, “I'm going to do something. Don't freak out on me.”

Keith stared at him with a look before he nodded. Shiro scooted closer to the other, pulling Keith to his chest and wrapping his bigger arms around the other who tensed. A few seconds went by before he relaxed, clinging to Shiro's warmth and chest. Shiro sat there, gently rubbing Keith's back as a wet patch grew on his shoulder. Many minutes went by before Shiro spoke up.

“You good?”

Keith leaned back, eyes even more yellow than before from crying but he had a smile on his lips. He moved his hands around.

“The druids healed you, but they don't know if your vocal cords will ever recover,” Shiro frowned before he laid his hand on the other's shoulder again, getting a small grin, “I hope your voice comes back. I'd love to hear it. It probably sounds good.”

Shiro felt his cheeks heat up as Keith shrugged, not noticing the tone Shiro had said it in. He let out a sigh of relief before he smiled.

“Can you teach me more sign language?” He asked as he tilted his head this time, “I can always improve and there's really nothing else to do.”

Keith blinked before he nodded, agreeing by making a symbol. Shiro listed them off if he knew them and figured out ones he didn't. That's how they spent the rest of their day.

…..

Shiro noticed it sometimes. It didn't happen often, but it probably did about every two weeks maybe. At this point, he and Keith were getting close to each other enough now they were often touching one another. A hand on the shoulder, a ruffle of the hair, hugs, and sometimes they settled close at night if it was cold in the cell. Shiro told himself it was just to conserve body heat, being that Keith naturally ran quite a bit warmer than he did. He had found out that Keith was almost nineteen. In years, he wasn't sure if Keith had been talking about Earth ones or another unit of time. The younger said he'd been a prisoner for at least three years. He'd been in space for that plus double those years. Everytime Shiro asked about his parents or the planet he grow up on for the first ten years or how he even got into space into the first place, Keith would look away and not sign anything. Shiro learned which buttons to not press quickly.

Other than that, Keith acted fine...except those few moments every two weeks. The first time it had happened, Shiro had been scared. It was a day after Shiro's match. He and Keith were talking adamantly about how they both loved to pilot and how Keith wanted to see Earth someday when the younger went into a daze right in the middle of the conversation. His hands dropped to his sides before he turned to the door, staring at it with a glazed look. Shiro called out to the other who acted like he didn't hear him. Tugging on Keith's arm, he frowned at the drugged look on his best friend's face. A few minutes passed with barely any sound or movement before Keith blinked and shook his head, eyes back to normal. 

Shiro had no idea what had happened to the other. So far, it had happened six times, the last one just less than a week ago. It had been almost a year since Shiro himself had been here. He was still undefeated in the Arena, and Keith wasn't far behind, gaining in fight skills each time. Shiro was proud of him but dreaded the day that he would have to face Keith in that dirt ring.

Blinking as something in the corner of his eye moved, Shiro turned just in time to see Keith stumble to the door. His strides were unlike what he usually used, more softly mechanical than graceful. The young Galra pushes against the unbudging door as Shiro sits himself up. Keith never acted this way. Unless…

Keith started to claw at the door, ripping into it with his nails. For a second, he swore Keith's hair turned pitch black and his skin a few shades paler but they are normal the next. Keith continues to scratch at the door before banging on it. Sending a kick to the metal, he bumps his tail against it too. Shiro jumps up as he realizes that all this noise will attract attention they can't afford. Plus, he didn't want Keith hurting himself.

Siding up beside the other, he grabbed the other by the waist, pulling him to the shared cot. Wrestling the surprisingly strong younger man onto the bed, he pins him down before frowning. Keith's eyes were even hazier than usual when these attacks came. He continued to fight, shoving an elbow into Shiro's face at least three times and trying to hit his sensitive area once. He continued thrashing and used his tail to his advantage, gripping Shiro's arm tightly. If it had been his flesh hand, Shiro probably would have lost his wrist right there. Shiro pulled the other to his chest and held tightly as he waited for Keith to stop struggling. It felt like like weeks, but when Keith didn't move, Shiro looked at him. His heart broke.

Keith stared at him blankly. It was a strange, dead look. One that Keith himself never ever had on his face. 

“Keith?”

No response. No movement other than breathing. It was eerie and _NOT KEITH!_

“Keith,” Shiro pleaded as he placed a hand on the other’s cheek, getting no reply, “Keith. Come on...You're scaring me. **Keith!** ”

The door slid open as Shiro pulled the defenseless friend into his arms before growling at whoever had come inside. It was another Galra, one who looked familiar. He was one of the doctors who always worked on Shiro after his matches, patching him up. 

He still didn't trust the man to not hurt Keith though.

“I have something to help him,” the stranger said with an accent as he held out a container, “Let me help.”

Shiro glared at him, arm bright with burning light before he glanced down at the boy in his arms. The light caught Keith's face, tossing the left side into the shadows. The violet color highlighted the scars on his neck, making Shiro cringe. Keith looked almost dead. If Shiro didn't do something, the younger would get himself hurt badly. Nothing seemed to be getting through to him this time.

Shiro nodded as he watched the Galra very carefully. The doctor carefully placed his long fingers to Keith's neck before frowning. Popping the container out of its package, he quickly inserted the needle into the hybrid's neck. Moments passed with nothing happening before Keith's eyes drooped. He soon fell asleep with his head against Shiro's stomach. 

“Thank you,” Shiro muttered as the Galra stood back, “He's been having these spells more often lately.”

The Galra looked down at Keith with an unreadable look before he turned and left the cell, door sliding shut behind him and locking shut. Shiro now thought he was going crazy. The Galra seemed to look at Keith _worriedly._ No Galra was ever worried about Keith. The prisoners hated him because he was Galran. The Galra despised him because he was a “half-breed.” Shiro was most likely the only one who cared about him. When he got free, he'd bring Keith with him. Get his friend back home where he should be. If not, maybe...they could travel together.

Settling down, he pulled the blanket over them before pulling the other man closer to him, feeling a small drift of warm breath pass his ear. Dark hair tickled his nose as he fell asleep.

…..

Shiro jumped to his left, avoiding the blow of his opponent's large fist. Rocks crumbled into dust on impact, covering the air and blanketing Shiro so he couldn't see past his outstretched arms. Powering up his hand, he ducked just as the alien dove at him. Thrusting up, he felt ribs break as skin tore from muscles. Burning flesh choked Shiro as silver blood splattered everywhere, some in thick enough globs that Shiro could have believed it to be overcooked noodles. The beast fell with a roar, dead at his feet as Shiro shuddered weakly, barely standing up.

That was the fourth alien he'd faced this match. He wasn't hurt, but it was only a matter of time before something got him. As much as Keith liked to tease him about being tough, Shiro couldn't last forever. And of course, neither could Keith. It had been another week yet, and the spells had hit the younger another two times. They were getting out of control, and Shiro was waiting for the day when Keith would be lost forever. He didn't think he could live with that.

“The Champion has won once again!” The announcer shouted as three guards came out and cuffed him, “Be sure to see the next match! A half-breed will be going against the Champion. Only one walks away.”

Shiro's blood went cold as he was led away from the Arena. Shiro wouldn't let that happen. He'd die before Keith got killed. He'd make sure of it. His time was running out, but Keith had plenty of life to live. As he stumbled when the guard shoved him too harshly, Shiro glanced back in the room, seeing three very important figures. All of them made him swallow nervously. 

Zarkon….Haggar….Sendak….

Led down the hallway, Shiro's mind raced before he heard a sound. Recognizing it right away, he felt dread curl around him as the unarmed guard opened the door. Out walked Keith who marched dazedly right by the alien. The Galra scowled before yanking him back into the room, smacking his face as Keith fell to the floor. When the third kick hit the half-Galra, Shiro shouted.

“Leave him alone!” He threw himself at the man before shoving the two beside him away from the door. Racing forward, he sent the alien back with a hit on his middle. Nearly snarling at the man, he almost missed the guard trying to sneak up behind him. Whipping around, he tossed the untrained alien into the wall. When he turned back to the other, he was surprised to see Keith had taken him out already, body unconscious on the floor. Keith still had that dead look on his face as he started for the door again. Shiro quickly grabbed his hand before he could run into a wall.

“What is going on here?” Shiro froze as the Galra from before came in, “You three were supposed to take the prisoner to his cell.”

“But,” the leader started only to shut up as yellow eyes glared at him.

“High Priestess Haggar will not be pleased that her Champions have been hurt,” the man explained with a serious expression, “Leave them to me. I have to check the Champion over, and with your idiocy, now I've got to check the other.”

“Sir,” another tried.

“Leave or Lord Zarkon will hear about this.”

The two quickly picked themselves up before grabbing their unconscious third and leaving. The door shut and locked itself with a beep.

“What happened this time?” The man sighed tiredly as he gazed at Shiro from head to toe before his attention went to the younger Galra, “Surely the Champions should stay out of trouble.”

“It's the spells,” Shiro muttered as he stared at Keith's still expression, “They've been happening a lot more this week.”

“Hm,” the man frowned as he examined the younger one, “He is fine other than being quite sore later on. How long has he been like this?”

Shiro shrugged, helpless, “I just got back from my matc-”

The announcer's voice comes back to haunt him as he pants, cold sweat breaking out on his skin. Exposed to the air, it feels ice cold in this cell. He can't let them go on that match. He won't kill his only friend. If only they could get free...if only-

“Let him go.”

The Galra looks at him with an unimpressed expression.

“There's a reason he has been having these...these trances,” Shiro frowned as he pulled the doctor's hand from Keith's face, “I'm sure of it. Also like I'm sure that you can help us get free.”

The alien studied him for a moment before nodding.

“I am Ulaz, a member of the Blade of Marmora,” he speaks before glancing at Keith softly, like an uncle would a nephew, “And Keith is a member of our organization too.”

Shiro's in shock. He'd gathered that Ulaz's group was against the Empire. But for Keith to be part of this since he was ten…

“We wanted to get him out,” the man sighs sadly, running a hand through dark hair, “He was caught almost three years ago. By the time we had found out, he was already intensely under security because he is only half Galra. The witch took an interest in him right away, he was sent to the druids for nearly half his time here until they determined they'd stick him into the Arena.”

Shiro winced. The druids were the worst. Shiro had only been with them a few times in all the past year, and he'd rather be cut open in the middle of a brutal match than face the evil followers of Haggar. How Keith lasted a year and a half was beyond him.

“But we can fix that now,” the Galra stared at Keith another moment before his head turned to Shiro, “Zarkon has located the Blue Lion on your home planet, Earth. You must get it before him. He cannot get Voltron. Take Keith with you. We couldn't protect him, but perhaps you can.”

“Okay,” Shiro nodded before Keith let out a small sound, “I'll let Keith lead me where ever he is heading.”

“Here,” the man inserted a chip into his mechanical arm before entering in some information, “When you can, use these locations in your arm to find me. The universe needs a good leader like you and a strong warrior like him. Now go. I'll provide a distraction.”

Shiro watched as the man left. Keith slowly got up, huffing as he numbly walked to the door again. This time, Shiro strolled behind him, letting him do his own thing but being ready to pull him back if he walked into any sentries’ paths. Luckily, they ran into no one as they took twists and turns down multiple dark hallways. Only the change in light color told him they were somewhere new.

Soon, they stepped into a hangar. Inside were many ships of all kinds. Wondering what him was going to, Shiro followed blindly behind, making sure they weren't caught. They snuck their way into a large docked ship. Walking around, they passed the hallway that was oddly familiar. 

Something in his mind flashed as he rubbed his face, pausing while holding onto his best friend who also froze automatically, as if sensing his mood. 

Sentries rushing at him. Yellow eyes surrounding him. A big Galra in front of him, missing a left arm.

Sendak's ship. The one he had been on all those months ago. The one that he'd become a gladiator in.

Shiro let Keith go in his fright. Forcing himself to move, he rushed after him. Down more halls, they roamed before a hangar door opened beneath Keith's hand. It led to a big hangar and Shiro's jaw dropped.

A bright red force field covered the only ship inside the room. The ship was a giant red cat, sitting there with blank eyes. As they moved closer, he could see Keith becoming more calm. The alien gave the shield a gentle tap before pawing at the light. Seconds later, it drops as the machine stands up and roars.

Shiro nearly grabs Keith as the jaw opens slightly. Before he can question it, a shot of energy flies by into the metal crate by his side. Pieces shredded in every direction, Shiro finally pulls Keith down. More shots go over their heads as the older looks back to six sentries.

Powering up his arm, he doesn't get a chance to use it as someone grabs his other arm, flinging him into the lion which snaps its mouth shut.

“Keith!”

Banging his fist on the door, he gives up in seconds, trying to find a window. Turning, he finds it and sees just as Keith takes a blast to the side.

“Please, please, please,” Shiro begs as he presses his fist to the wall, “Get up. Get up, Keith. Now. Come on.”

Keith manages to move but gets a specific look in his eyes. The kind Shiro has only seen in a match when Keith was going to do something impulsive and often completely reckless. 

It was no different here.

The half-Galra smashed his fist on the control panel for the large door beneath his feet. They opened up, sucking the robots into deep space. Somehow, the large door keeping the main hangar closed is open. Keith gripped onto the ledge, attempting to shut the door as boxes flew by him. The air was being sucked out of the room and Keith was gasping with wide eyes. Shiro swore he could literally see his skin turn snow white as his hold lessens.

“Please do something!” He shouts at the large mechanical beast he's in as he tightened his fists on the counsel, absentmindedly shocked it doesn't cave under his metal one, “You brought him to you. You have to save him. I...I need him!”

Keith's fingers slipped as a box smashed into him. Before Shiro's eyes, he fell out into space. Before the man can cry out, the lion roars louder than before, eyes flashing brightly before Shiro's flung back into one wall. Seconds later, something lands on top of him with a few jabs. Twisting, he's never been happier to see something in his life.

It's Keith. He's gasping for breath silently as he shakes. His side where Shiro saw him get hit only has a tiny graze leaving a hole in the purple material. He quickly pulls the other into a hug to ground him as the lion rights itself and blasts off.

Keith starts to sign. Shiro nearly demands he take a rest after all he had been through in less than a minute, but the lion grumbles before diving. Keith rushes to the pilot seat where he throws himself. Grabbing the controls, he books them out of the Command Central of the Galra Empire. In seconds, they are far away. Shiro grips the seat as he leans by Keith's side.

Silence greets them as the man flies for half an hour more. Suddenly, violet eyes stare at him and lavender hands move.

“Well,” Shiro frowned as he looked at Keith, “I wanted to get you back hom-”

The dark-haired man shakes his head. 

“But we need to get back to Earth,” he pointed out as he glanced out the window at the billions of stars passing them by, “I don't know how to get us back-”

Keith's eyes went wide.

“The lion can get us there?” Shiro asks as Keith nods, “It's telling you that...in pictures and feelings?”

Keith's only answer is another nod.

“Alright,” Shiro smiles hesitantly as he places a hand to Keith's shoulder, “Let's go. I trust you.”

The lion picks up speed.


	2. The Desert

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro and Keith reach Earth where they grab some food. Shiro learns some new things about his friend, figures out he has a crush, and...they also get caught.

They make it to Earth. Shiro's not sure how but they do. Before they are aware of it, with a jarring bump, they enter Earth’s atmosphere. Keith skillfully lands the large mechanical cat into the middle of the desert where they both get out. The Red Lion sits up with a rumbling purr before its eyes turn dark and the shield comes up. 

“What do we do now?” Shiro asks curiously only for Keith to tilt his head and raise a brow, “We need supplies and we have to find the Blue Lion. But you're not exactly something humans are used to yet.”

Keith blinked before he moved his hands around.

“Earth hasn't experienced other species of people yet,” Shiro shrugged sheepishly, “That's what we were doing on the Kerberos mission.”

Keith's gaze floats to the lion before moving back to Shiro's with a determined look. He signs something that the older doesn't quite catch before closing his eyes.

“Keith, what are you-”

Before his eyes, Shiro sees as purple skin bleaches to pale peach. Ears curve to round points as the hair becomes pure ebony. The tail shrinks into nothing as Keith's nails turn blunt. When he opens his eyes, they're the same color as before but the sclera is white. When the younger smiles, his teeth are no longer pointed except for the fangs which only look a little longer than a normal person's. A bruise paints itself on Keith's temple where the guard had hit him hard enough, a dark splotch of fading yellows. 

“You're…” Shiro's eyes are wide as he gasps in shock, “Human?”

Keith nods without looking at him.

“Keith,” Shiro gently moves to cup Keith's cheek, forcing him to look at the older, “Keith. I'm not mad. I'm just surprised.”

Keith's brows move up.

“I knew you were half-Galra, but I never suspected you were human,” he stated with a small shrug, “But honestly, that doesn't mean you're any less my friend. I still care about you the same as I always have.”

Keith's eyes sparkled as he launched himself at Shiro. He met him halfway with a hand to his as they hugged. They had developed the hug early on but hardly used it. He could feel Keith nuzzling into his neck, toasty breath washing over him as the warm sun shone down on his back. Soothing his hand through silky hair, he pulled back when Keith pushed his arm back, signalling that he wanted to tell Shiro something. He waved his hands about.

“You know where we can get some clothes?” Shiro stared out onto the horizon in thought, “I know there's a town nearby but we're going to call too much attention to us dressed like this, so I'm ready for whatever you want to do. Then we can grab some food and supplies and get the Blue Lion.”

Keith nods before they fall in step. They walk for nearly an hour in the hot desert before Keith blinks. Glancing left and right, he pauses at a tiny cave entrance. Shiro frowns as he sees the younger reach in with no regards to whether something deadly could be hiding inside. About to tell him to be careful, he shakes his head as Keith whips around with an air-tight bag in hand. Shiro can make out two tank tops, one red and one white, black pants, and two pairs of boots.

Rushing to the other, Shiro watches as Keith tells him how his dad had lived in this desert. That he sometimes wandered too far and would get lost or need a break. It happened enough that he left some supplies in little spots only he knew of and had shown Keith where some were. Shiro was amazed at how intact they were as he pulled out the tank top. Grabbing the rest of the larger set, he glanced at Keith who had already removed his shirt. Shiro blushed before looking away, giving the other privacy as he himself stripped and got dressed. The clothes were snug, but not uncomfortable as a cool breeze ruffled his shirt. Glancing down, he froze.

His scars.

They were everywhere. Some covered his arms in thick strings. Others were small enough that Shiro had trouble seeing them from inches away. Some were so faded with time and druid magic that they were white. Others were more of an angry pink color due to not healing correctly. Shiro knew it would get extra looks. And what about his face? People were bound to know who he was on sight. Shiro had been pretty famous back at the Garrison. Didn't help that he basically went to every school around the area to recruit teens. What if someone called them in? What if-

A hand tugged on his bare shoulder. Shiro jolted as he turned to the other, breathing quickly. A panic attack...oops.

Keith doesn't even attempt to move his lips but keeps a very steady grasp on him. Moments pass before Shiro can breathe correctly again.

“Sorry,” he apologizes brokenly as he shakes his head, “The scars...People will wonder and…”

Keith shook the man again before he could go off. Shiro smiled gratefully as he gripped the pale hand. The man holds up something white and Shiro nearly chuckles as he ruffles the smaller's hair. 

“You know me too well,” Shiro muttered as he took the jacket into hand before frowning, “What about you? You've got scars too.”

Keith signs that he has no problem with others seeing his. That he was used to his past wounds. But Shiro knows differently. He sees how Keith tenses whenever Shiro glances at his scars. There's thin ones, more precise than Shiro's were. They must have been from the druids healing him and poking around. The younger may be okay with his scars, but it didn't mean he was comfortable with them. Shiro saw Keith sneaking a hand to touch his scarred throat when he thought the older man wasn't watching. The old wounds must have done to him what the scars on the stump of Shiro's arm did.

Brought back painful memories.

Glancing down, he saw a dark maroon bandana in the bag. Picking it up slowly, he shook it out before nodding to himself. Keith was off to the side, staring at a large cactus covered in holes. Making his footsteps loud enough, Shiro slid behind the other and gently placed the folded piece of cloth just below his chin. Tying a small knot into the back, he smiled reassuringly when Keith looked back at him.

“There,” Shiro messed with the corner of it before Keith faced him fully and he swore he saw a splotch of pink dust Keith's cheeks, “I know that's all we have, but it should work. Just tell me if you're uncomfortable, okay? We'll figure something out.”

Keith nodded as they both looked at whatever was left in the clear bag. Two small belts with packs were inside along with a water bottle, surprisingly filled with drinkable water. They shared the water before putting the belts on.

“Time to go,” Shiro spoke as he held Keith's hand in his, enjoying the contact, “There should be a town nearby.”

Keith made a face and Shiro snickered before bursting into laughter. Keith raised a brow before laughing silently himself. 

“Yeah, me too,” Shiro muttered once he could breathe again, “But I'm sure a giant flying red lion will definitely attract attention. Too bad we don't have a car or something to use.”

Keith nodded before he blinked and tilted his head. Shiro smiled before leading him away, bag folded back into its hiding spot. They walked through the desert for another four hours, taking a break once in awhile. Keith seemed to like the hot air on his skin and was amazed by the small animals that would scurry by. Shiro himself grinned as the sun shone down on him. He'd missed this for a year and a half. 

But it wouldn't last.

Not when they had a mission. Not when they had to go get the Blue Lion and get the heck out of there before the Galra attacked Earth.

Before long, they saw the edge of a city in their view. Making sure it wasn't a mirage, Shiro gripped Keith's arm before moving faster. He recognized this town. It was a moderately large one with enough places to go that no one should know him personally. He had only been there a total of twice ever, once to recruit and once for a night out with Adam. That was about three years ago. 

They walked down the street. A few people glanced at them but went back on their way as the two strolled by. Shiro let out a deep sigh of relief when it was apparent that he wasn't recognized nor did anyone notice anything off with Keith.

“Hey, we can get some food with the money that was left in the bag,” Shiro watched as Keith nodded, “I haven't had Earth food in forever! I've had enough of those dried peas Commander Holt and Matt liked. And food goo. And you haven't had Earth food in ages. Let's get some.”

They find a restaurant by the name of Sandy's Oasis. Taking a glimpse into the window, Shiro pulls Keith in when it looks like a good enough place to eat. It hadn't been there when Shiro had last time, so they both got a table, sitting on opposite sides of it. Shiro could feel Keith's foot nudging against his knee to an invisible beat as he stares out the window with an impressed expression. Shiro takes it in until someone comes up to them in shoes that _click._

“Hello,” a woman with short blonde hair greets them both, smile genuine on her face, “My name is Mandy. I'll be your waitress today. What do you want to drink?”

Shiro gazes at the menu really quickly before ordering tea for the both of them. He didn't want to pull Keith out of his happy moment over there. Minutes went by before Shiro heard her come back. 

“Here you go,” she passed the honey brown liquid in tall cups to them each before pulling out a pad, “What will you being ordering?”

Keith's attention drifts back to them as he glanced at Shiro. Shrugging, he watches the older who orders the special for them both. The woman wanders away as Shiro turned to look at Keith who was staring forward intensely. Shiro groaned inwardly as he gripped the other's hand tightly over the table. It gets them some concerned looks - Shiro's sure that Keith looks young enough in his human form to be a mid-teen due to malnutrition and Shiro probably looks much older than his twenty-five years now - but he just continues to hold the smaller hand.

This is the look Keith gets in his eyes when the Red Lion had been calling him. Shiro didn't need him walking off in a trance right now. That would not be good for the younger.

Seconds go by before Keith is back to normal. He glanced around before his gaze drops to Shiro's hand and he blushes lightly. Shiro himself lets go of the man's hand as his own cheeks flush with heat. 

About to say something, they are interrupted.

“Mrroww.”

Peering to the side, Shiro sees a pure black cat sitting there as its yellow eyes watch them. It seems to glare at him before it sees Keith. Letting out a purr, it rubs against Keith's hand. Keith laughs happily as he pets it.

“Kuro,” a man stumbled up them quickly, all grey hair and stiff back, “What have I told you about leaving your cat house? Bad bad cat.”

The cat stares at him before licking Keith's hand once before taking off back the way it must have come.

“Sorry about that,” the man apologizes as he brushed his front off, a small fluff of black fur falling off, “I'm Sandy and this is my restaurant. Usually he doesn't get out like that. Seems he likes you.”

Keith grins some as he waves his hands around. Shiro translates automatically. 

“His dad used to help out stray cats,” Shiro speaks as Keith nods, “Keith really likes them. Kuro is a pretty good name for him, by the way.”

“Thank you,” the man smiles as he walks back to the back room area, “Have a good day, you two! We'll see where that cat wanders next!”

They just barely snicker when their food is brought out. It's a basic classic around the area consisting of french toast, bacon, and eggs, but they dig in like they haven't eaten in days. When they are done, Shiro quickly pays before they leave.

They walk around for a half an hour before Shiro almost loses Keith. Glancing up and down the street, he just manages to see the younger looking through a big window, face nearly pressed to the glass. Raising a brow, he slides up to his side. Risking a glance, his eyes widen in amazement. 

It's an autoshop. The kind that held all kinds of vehicles. This one seemed to specialize in vehicles that used hovertech. Shiro saw a hover motorcycle without the steering handles, a car without the windows, and a large truck without any energy converters. But he saw what Keith was staring at, and he was impressed.

It was an older hoverbike, one that had seen better days. It was shined up and well-taken care of. Its paint was chipped a little and the color of fresh cherries. A large white number _01_ was printed on each side and Shiro gaped as he remembered using the same model to jump off cliffs back years ago. He could practically feel the wind in his hair right now. Glancing at Keith, he's concerned to see that Keith's not looking very happy. 

“What's wrong?”

Keith glances at him from the side of his eye before looking back. He sighs silently before shaking his head. Starting for the walkway, he doesn't get far as Shiro gets an idea.

“Wait here.”

And Shiro goes into the store. It smells like a regular shop would, oil and gas in the air. Some car exhaust too. All things the advanced vehicles everywhere else in the universe doesn't need. The bell rings as the door closes, so Shiro steps forward. A woman greets him at the counter.

“Hey!” She grins before writing something down on a notebook, “What can I do for you? Having car troubles? Need a change?”

“I was wondering about the red hoverbike in your shop.”

“Oh, that old thing?” She waves a hand while laughing softly, “What about it?”

“I was wondering how much it is?” Shiro asks, knowing he would not have close to enough to purchase it, but wanting to see a smile on Keith's face again. Plus, they would need a transportation device to get them around better, “I want it for a friend of mine.”

She gave him a smirk that he didn't quite understand until he saw what she was looking at. Outside the window, Keith was standing with his back to them, looking every which way as he petted yet another cat up on a post by him. The cat snuggled up to his nose, demanding all of his attention. Shiro smiled softly as he watched.

“I see. Trying to impress your boyfriend,” she smirked wider and Shiro momentarily had a heart attack, so he couldn't get a word out to deny or accept, “He does look like a hoverbike boy. Alright...Usually I'd have you do the whole sign-and-deal thing, but that there bike has been here for roughly seven years. I want it out of here.”

“Huh?”

“Take it off my hands,” she placed her hands on her hips, “It's yours.”

“But-”

“No ‘buts’,” she interrupted with a shake of her head, “No one has owned it since the previous owner. If it still works in good condition, take it.”

“Alright,” Shiro nods as he moves to the machine. Walking to its side, he is even more amazed. He can see every little dent and scratch. One seems to be deliberately marked onto the metal, but Shiro can only make out a _K_ and a _T_ in it. Getting onto the seat, he places a hand over the starter. Nothing happens for a good second before it shutters, struggling to get the power to turn on. A few bumpy sounds like a cough to clear the pipes, and it's floating smoothly in the air. Dust and papers swirl around the propellers as it lifts almost a foot in the air. 

“Phewie,” she coughs as Shiro kills the thrust, letting it settle, “It sure works alright. Your boyfriend's bound to love it.”

Shiro doesn't even try to deny it now. Not enough time he figures, but somewhere deep down, he secretly loves the title. 

“Are you sure I can't-”

“Go,” she waves as she opens the garage door slowly, “Have a good time with him.”

“Thank you,” Shiro smiled, about to start the engine again, when her past words registered fully in his mind, “Wait, what happened to the owner?”

“Some say he died,” she shrugged as she messed with a handle on a small car, “A massive fire got him and he cursed the bike before he passed. Some say his son's ghost haunts it.”

“What do you think?”

“I think it's all just a tale,” she shrugged again, black hair falling into dark brown eyes and tan skin, “The man probably just abandoned the bike and took off with his boy. Nobody knows what happened.”

That sounded...interesting. Shiro blinked before he shook his head. Saying goodbye to the woman, he pulled out into the street. Keith was still standing where he had been, now surrounded by two more cats. Shiro grinned with joy as he saw Keith laughing as one feline tried to whack his-

“Keith!” Shiro shouted and the younger whipped around in shock, “Tail.”

The man raised a brow before he glanced down at the cat eyeing his tail fluff. Giving Shiro a sheepish smile, the man's tail popped out of existence. Shiro sighed in relief before he gently braced Keith's side with his flesh arm.

“Hey.”

Keith responded with a smile.

“We ready to go?”

He nodded before petting the cats one last time. Shiro took his hand in his as he led the other to the bike. 

Keith froze as soon as he saw it. He glanced back at Shiro with the saddest expression the older had ever seen on his face as he brushed his fingers over every dint on the engine. Shiro knew he had really messed up when tears gathered in Keith's eyes.

“Keith,” he frowned and took a step forward, “I'm sorry. I just thought that you wou-”

The arms gripping his neck stopped him as he froze this time. Keith was hugging him...after he had upset him? Why?

He got his answer moments later when Keith pushed back with a tiny grin on his lips.

“Oh,” Shiro muttered before glancing at the bike, “What?”

Turns out that the hoverbike had been his dad's. They used to drive around in the desert on it. Keith stopped when he started to say about the last time he had seen the bike. A dark look crossed his eyes, but Shiro called out to him.

“You want to drive it?”

Keith blinked before shaking his head, a bigger smirk on his face. He moved his hands and Shiro almost lost whatever air he had in his lungs as he squeaked. 

“Keith! I'm a good pilot!” He protested as Keith snickered, covering his mouth, “Keith...I flew a ship to Pluto's moon…Keith! Just get on the bike.”

Shiro rolled his eyes as he laughed too. Keith jumped onto the scarlet bike behind him, close enough that Shiro felt his warmth on his back. After he made sure the half-alien was on, he gunned the bike. They bolted down the street as Keith's arms tightened around his chest. Taking a left, Shiro watched as the town disappeared behind them. Dust whipped his white fluff of hair into his face as he sped up, grin on his face.

He'd show Keith just how good of a pilot he was.

“Lean right!” Shiro shouted to the back before he shifted that way. Keith followed quickly enough that they jumped over the edge of a pathway onto the next one. The gap between the stone made it that much more exciting as the bike touched down on sandy orange rocks. Pulling it forward, he grinned at what was ahead.

Racing forward, he felt Keith tighten his hold more as sharp claws dug into Shiro's stomach. He pushed on as they moved closer. Swooping off the edge, they both let out cries (although Keith's weren't there, Shiro knew he was) of happiness, joy, and shock as gravity thrusted them to the ground. Shiro waited patiently for the right moment before he lifted up and bounced them out of there safely like a pebble on a pond's surface.

He could feel the younger's face peeled to his neck. It felt good, and Shiro hadn't noticed how much he'd missed contact like this, warm skin on his own. Pulling the bike to a stop, he got off the bike just as Keith did. Running a hand through his hair, Shiro laughed.

“It's been forever since I last drove a hoverbike over these cliffs.”

Keith just glanced out at the horizon.

“Hey, Keith,” the man glanced at him and Shiro momentarily lost his breath, in a good way this time. The sun was setting, spreading Keith aglow with scarlet fiery light. If Shiro had doubts before he knew he had none now.

He really really liked Keith. As in I'm-head-over-heels-for-you-even-though-I-shouldn't-be type of way. He coughed and cleared his throat as the younger gave him a worried expression. 

“I was wondering if,” Shiro trailed off before asking, “If it's okay to-”

Keith blinked before his gaze listed to the side. Shiro paused as he felt the tension in the air. There was no wind, no bird calls, no lizards scurrying to a place of warmth. There was nothing but eeriness around. Shiro quickly grabbed Keith's hand as he approached the hoverbike. Signing to Keith quietly, he didn't have enough time to know what was happening as Keith slammed into him. Smashing into the cooling rocks, he glanced up just in time to see many vehicles surrounding them. Ones that were familiar. 

The Garrison. 

Keith dropped into a fighting position, ready for any threat. He had no weapons, but he was lethal nonetheless. Shiro didn't want any injuries involved. Maybe if he explained to them that Earth was carrying the Blue Lion-

“It's Takashi Shirogane!” One of the men shouted as more voices echoed his, “He's supposed to be dead!”

“We have to detain them,” another spoke up, not removing his helmet, “We don't know what diseases they could bring. Or what that arm will do. Or who the tag along is. All we know is Shirogane is somehow alive. Catch them.”

Shiro saw as Keith jumped forward. Thrusting his hand up, the man’s helmet slid off as the part-alien kicked his chest. Shiro frowned as the man fought on for a second or two more, taking out three other people before toppling over into the dust. Shiro's heart stopped. 

“Keith!”

Shiro bolted forward as he pulled the other to him. Checking him over, he let out a relieved sigh. Keith was fine. 

“Come with us, no fighting,” the man Keith had first attacked glared at them as Shiro clung to Keith's shoulders, “And he'll be okay. We just need to question you.”

“I'll go with,” Shiro muttered as he stared at the man, “Leave him out of this.”

A tiny tug called his attention downward. Keith was awake just slightly. Shiro's gaze settled on the smaller as his eyes flickered a few times. Shiro's own eyes narrowed. They couldn't find out that Keith was not fully human. Maybe if he got all of their attention…

“Fine,” Shiro agreed before picking his best friend up gently. Keith snuggled into his arms as he followed the other people. He sent Keith a soft smile before getting into the large truck. It took only minutes to get to the camp set up, and Shiro cursed inside at not being more cautious. 

“This way,” he was led into a temporary decontamination chamber. They walked down a long hall into a room with two metal sheets on wheels and Shiro grew cold. This was too much like the druids. Even if the room wasn't covered in an ominous violet glow, it still felt wrong. 

Or maybe all settings like this felt terrible for Shiro after his time with the magical sadists.

“Put him on the table there,” the man instructed as the older man reluctantly set the unconscious friend down. He stepped back when told to and two others in hazmat suits came in. One settled by Keith, tying the other to the table. At the same time, the second one pushed Shiro down and placed the leather restraints on. 

Shiro took deep breaths in, attempting not to panic. He didn't like this. He had to get them out. Before they found out Keith's secrets and Shiro's arm. He had to warn them.

“Where is the Red Lion you were piloting?”

Shiro's thoughts freeze. It's Iverson.

“You have to let us go!” He shouted as he held his head up to stare down the man who had once been his superior. The man is wearing a hazmat suit too, “We're all in danger!”

“Calm down, Shiro,” he tries to calm Shiro down but any movement closer only causes Shiro to freak out more, “You're in quarantine.”

“You don't understand! Aliens are coming!”

A movement out of the corner of his eye tells him Keith is waking up. The other three also notice this as they crowd around the younger. Said man glares at them as they ask questions. 

“Where is the red machine you were flying? How did you two get to Earth? Who are you?”

Keith didn't answer. He simply stared at them, distrust and anger clear on his face. But the head of the Garrison must have taken it as defiance before he ordered them to get him something that Shiro didn't quite catch. Seconds passed as the man gave the older man whatever he'd asked for.

It was a pair of scissors. A simple orange pair that really couldn't cause any harm to anyone with how blunt the blades were. But it triggered something within Keith as Shiro watched on. It must have been from his time with the druids. 

Keith lashed out. He panicked as he tried desperately to get free from the cuffs holding him down. His breathing quickened as he huffed, yanking on his arm. Shiro's heart tore in two as the younger bashed his head against the metal with a clang. As the third man in the bright suit came closer, Keith jerked to the side. The table screeched as its wheels slid an inch. Keith's hair started to get a grape tint to it as he began to lose control of his human form. 

“STOP IT!” Shiro exclaimed as he glared at the three, pushing against his own restraints this time, knowing he could just turn his arm on and melt it off, “HE CAN'T TALK!”

That pulled their attention to him. He was still watching Keith whose paling skin on his face was growing dots of purple. His teeth were also sharpened to the point that Keith could probably bite his way through the cuffs. His eyes were the unnatural hue of gold as the irises shrunk down to pins. The one ear Shiro could see was more pointed than it had been. 

“We have to find Voltron!” He screamed to distract them as Keith's form flickered between human and Galran. The next few sentences Shiro said, he didn't remember. He just recalled watching Keith painstakingly calming down. Just in time too as the three turned to him. Keith stared back unhappily, some fear still in his eyes. 

“Can he use something to communicate with us?” The second asked timidly, “Paper or-”

“He knows sign language,” Shiro quickly as he gazed at the binding holding his friend's upper body down. An idea came to mind, “Let his arms free, and I'll translate.”

“Sir?”

“No,” Iverson shook his head before sighing tiredly, “You know that's against protocol. I can't let you go until we have the information we need.”

“Iverson,” Shiro pleaded with a growl before Keith's table made another noise. Shiro felt worry shatter like glass into his heart as he glanced to the half-Galra. Keith was struggling again, but this time it had a more mechanical and calm sense to it. Once again, dark eyes were glazed over like hours ago at the restaurant. The young man moved his head to the right as he scooted the metal sheet closer to the wall. The Blue Lion was calling. It was much closer now. 

Keith wouldn't be coming out of the trance on his own. 

Shiro noticed that the three other men were standing there, unsure what was going on. Panic flared through him as they muttered something about sedating them. Shiro bucked in his cuffs, willing the arm to heat up. They had to get away. They had to leave. They needed to find the lion. They needed to get back to space before the Galra found them. They were going to get hurt. They were going to hurt them. Being knocked out was never good. Shiro had woken up without an arm last time. What did they want? 

“No! No! No!” He heard someone protest loudly, but he couldn't connect the voice with anyone, much less his own, “Don't put us under! They're coming! We need to find the Blue Lion! Stop!”

A pinprick nipped his neck as the world around him grew thick and hazy. His vision blackened around the edges as he saw the same person stepping over to the not-quite-there Keith who continued to weakly tug at his restraints. Shiro shuttered as his limbs grew heavy and his lids lowered themselves in drugged exhaustion. He just got Keith's name out of his mouth when he finally blacked out.


	3. Three Cadets and Some Energy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith's feeling the Blue Lion's energy again. He gets himself and Shiro out of the Garrison confinement, and three new people tag along.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will update this fic on Saturdays. So if it skips a week or two, it'll eventually be posted.

Energy.

It was calling to him, leaving him adrift in a sea of calming, numbing blue. The energy urged him forward to it. To save it. Talk to it. Find it.

He had to get to it.

He _needed_ to get to it. 

But he couldn't move. Something was holding him back. His limbs weren't following his commands. He practically growled as annoyance crept up on him. 

The energy!

**“Patience yields focus.”**

That calming voice he knew and loved spoke up through the blue. It whispered as it blazed a trail of ebony through his mind. At the edge of his mind was a fiery pulse of crimson, one that warmed him. Gave him hope as a lion's roar echoed in his mind. 

He had to reach the energy. It was calling. It needed him.

Wiggling in place, he felt the pressure shift as whatever held him down came up higher. Numbly, he bit into it, ripping it apart with his razor-sharp teeth. The force disappeared from his wrists too as he clawed at it. His tail extended and proceeded to get rid of the rest of the thing holding him down.

The energy splashed over him in a wave, drowning him in pleas and half worried cries. If he had known his mother - if she hadn't been stuck deep undercover on a mission for years now and actually cared about him - he'd imagine that's what she'd feel if he were in trouble. Determination flashed through him from the energy.

Without looking, he felt someone come at him. Bracing himself, he threw a punch, knocking the person into the tray of equipment. It fell with a shatter as he turned to the next and landed a swift punch to that person too. He went flying with shout as the leader came at him. Red hot anger flared through him as he kicked up high, knocking him unconscious with a boot in the face. Gnashing his sharp teeth, he twisted around to where the energy frizzled softly like waves on a shore. Taking steps forward, he stopped as his hand brushed something soft. 

He was forgetting someone. Someone he had to grab. Someone he really liked. Someone he liked more than anyone else in his life. 

Sh...Shi...Shiro!

He stumbled to the table where his best friend was latched to. Digging into the cuffs, he carefully ripped them off before taking the larger man into his arms. 

The energy buzzed again. 

Everything grew hazy again as he shouldered the man's weight. Blue wrapped around him like a large body of water. Putting one foot forward, he didn't even pause as three new people joined them. The red flared in his mind, telling him to be careful. But the watery blue told him that they were safe. That they needed to come with. 

He wasn't sure which to listen to.

He ignored the annoying one who exclaimed something about saving Shiro and cargo pilots. Moving on as the same person held Shiro's other side, he marched up to his bike which was parked nearby. The fog in his mind nearly cleared as he glanced over it. Waving the big guy over to hold Shiro, he cautiously inspected the bike. He fully expected something explosive or poisonous on it. But he just saw an engine jammer tied to the seat. Tapping it, he glared as the smallest one shouted, “What are you doing, man? Those don't come off without a key and they have it!”

Keith huffed before trying something risky. Wrapping his hands around the device, he carefully pushed his energy into it. This was something he'd learned from the druids, something his year and a half had stuck to him. As his natural quintessence stretched thin, causing him to become tired, the machine sputtered out. An overload in energy.

Picking up the device, he threw it far away into the sand where it landed and shattered upon impact. Turning to the others, he waved at them and pointed to the bike. They looked at him skeptically before the overpowering sound of approaching vehicles and soldiers greeted their ears. 

“Uh,” the big guy glanced back nervously as the large body of humans marched toward them, “They don't look happy. Can we ride with you?”

Keith blinked before rolling his eyes and nodding. That's what he'd been trying to tell them. Jumping onto his dad's old hoverbike, he glared back at them as the vehicle tipped backward suddenly. All this weight on the tail was not good for it. But he'd have to make do as a dozen square cars raced at them. Gunning the starter like Shiro had done hours before, Keith twisted the bike around and then they were off. Rushing forward, they came across the same cliff from earlier. Keith nearly snarled at the fact that it was too dark to see before his eyes flickered, letting him take in the sight better. They had to fly across the gap here but the combined weight on his bike wouldn't make it unless the large one pushed his weight to the right. 

By this time, the three were screaming in fear. He'd never get their attention in time, and he couldn't reach the guy with his hand. Letting out a silent sigh, he decided to take the risk. Anything to get Shiro back to safety. Focusing, he felt his tail stretch out as far as it could go. It just barely brushed the guy's arm, so Keith took his chance. He grabbed the long-sleeved shirt and yanked.

“AH!” The guy shouted as he nearly toppled off. The bike shifted as Keith pushed it to its limits. With a thrust, they shot over the gap and along the roadway. Behind them, Keith heard two vehicles chase them. Seconds in, one crashed into the rocks.

“Is that a cliff up ahead?” The same teen screamed in fear as they rocketed through the night. The other two joined in as they told not to go over it. Keith grinned as he swooped over the edge. For a moment, they were flying through the air before gravity took over with a flutter in his stomach. 

“What are you doing!” The annoying one shouted as he grabbed the wing, “You're gonna get us all killed!”

If his hands were free, he'd have signed, _“Shut up and trust me!”_ It was times like this when he missed his voice the most. 

**“Patience yields focus.”**

Waiting for the last possible moment, Keith pushed the bike up. They bounced through the desert and flew away into the bare land ahead. Keith took a peek behind him to see that no one was following them. He was also lucky that the other three weren't looking at him and his glowing eyes. Pushing the bike to its fastest speed, he took off as the landmarks got familiar. Minutes later, a boulder looking like a roadrunner passed them. Keith smirked as he raced onward for a nearly an hour before he rounded a bend. 

A single shack stood out in the emptiness. A neglected yard of old white fence boards littered the ground. Tiny sand dunes sat in the corner like small mountains as a tree grew in the back. Keith pulled up to the concrete bunker beside the shack before he stepped off the bike. Glancing back at the three and a still unconscious Shiro, he strolled to the door.

The window pane was cracked, but otherwise fine. Keith tried to remember where his pops always hid the keys, but just like some other things from his life on Earth, Keith couldn’t recall it. There were some holes in his memory from his time with Haggar and her group. Instead, he gripped the handle and was surprised when it popped open. Going inside, he glanced around at the dusty furniture before his eyes found a sofa laying innocently off to the side. 

They could stay there for the night.

Marching back out to them, he grabbed up Shiro and the big guy helped him take his best friend to the couch. Gently laying the man down, Keith grabbed a tattered blanket and snickered inwardly as he remembered that their first meeting Shiro had been the one to cover him in a thin blanket. Weaving a hand through pale bangs, Keith finally gave the three his full attention as the smallest turned on the light. It sputtered a few times before coming on, lighting up the room brightly. Keith blinked as his eyes adjusted from the dark to light.

The smallest was the palest. He was dressed in mainly green with a pair of glasses. His golden eyes stared at everything in an analytical and calculating way as if piecing together a puzzle. Next to him was the big guy who had darker skin and was dressed in mostly yellow. He seemed nervous as he glanced around the place, shying away from a spider in the corner with scared eyes. The last one - the annoying one, Keith’s mind added - was dressed in blue and a dark green coat and had lighter skin than his companion. He looked ready to argue with Keith some more as he opened his mouth.

“Now what do we do?”

Keith shrugged as he sat down on the arm of the couch. They looked him over, probably judging him as he was them. He stared at them until they squirmed in their spots.

“Is this even your place?” The one in blue asked with a raised brow, “I bet you just randomly broke into someone’s house. What if they come back?”

“Lance,” the green one sighed tiredly with a flat look, “We haven’t even introduced each other yet. Leave the guy alone. Besides, this place is abandoned.”

“So you can question him about the Kerberos crew?”

The name rang a bell in his head.

“Yes,” he replied unashamed as he shook his head, light brown hair shaking out, “I want to ask about the Kerberos crew, Lance. Maybe he knows. If not, Shiro will.” 

Shiro had talked about the mission to Pluto’s moon once in a while. One of those times, he had talked about a guy he’d been with on the journey named Matt who...this person looked a lot like. Or at least Shiro’s description could have matched him. He would have thought Matt to be this kid if not for the fact that there was no way he was back on Earth right now.

“So,” the teen asked as the others glanced at him, “Where’s the crew? Can you...do you know?”

Keith shook his head as he glanced at the sleeping man beside him. Keith didn’t really know anything, but Shiro might. When he gazed back at them, he froze as they gave him a look. Moments went by before the blue-clad one spoke up.

“I’m Lance, best pilot out there,” he exaggerated and Keith only stared at him, “This is Pidge. And this is my buddy, Hunk.”

Keith frowned. How was he going to tell them his name? Should he try sign language? No one else had understood him when he’d tried back in the Galra cells. Even back when he was put into the group cells, no one could get what he was saying. Not until Shiro did. Keith glanced over at them before deciding he must as well.

‘My name is Keith.’

“K. E. I. T,” Pidge spoke slowly before his eyes moved up, “Keith. That’s your name, right?”

Keith agreed as the younger smiled.

“I don’t know sign language enough,” he shrugged apologetically, “But I do know the letters. Maybe you can write? That would help.”

Keith frowned. He knew English, but he couldn’t remember how to write it. Another thing lost to the druids. And the translator he had in did not work for letters, so he’d probably end up writing in Galran anyway. He shook his head again.

“Okay,” he sighed softly before his eyes widened, “Shiro probably knows sign language, right? He can translate until I figure out how to communicate to you.”

“Hold up!” Lance shouted all of a sudden as Keith sighed, “You can’t talk?”

Keith rolled his eyes and sent the guy an unimpressed look. Before he was aware of it, he was signing out of habit.

‘No, I’m just doing this for fun because I want to. Idiot.’

Pidge snickered at the last word, and Keith felt warmth spread through his body. At least he had one person who wasn’t against him. Letting a small grin light up his lips, he carefully stood up as he looked around. Vague memories touched the edge of his mind as he remembered the joyful cheers of a man and a little kid. He jerked out of his head when it was replaced with a screech, the garbled chatter of aliens, and the same boy's cries as the rest of the noise faded. Shaking his head, he glanced at the wardrobe to the side. Opening it, he coughed as five layers of dust flew into the air.

Inside was almost empty except for a few pieces of clothing. The bright red caught his eye. Pulling out a crop top jacket, he saw what was below it. A black vest and dark grey long-sleeved shirt sat there and Keith took them into his arms right away. Shiro would love these. They'd hide the scars he didn’t want others to see. They’d also keep him warm in the middle of space and...look really good on him.

Keith glanced away as he remembered all Shiro had done for him. Calming his nightmares even when he didn’t know him. Putting the maroon bandana on his neck to cover the scars because he didn’t like people staring at them. Getting him his dad’s bike even when he didn’t have to, just because Keith was depressed about not being able to touch it again.

These were all parts of Galra mating. To care about and be loyal to each other for life. Keith blushed softly as he folded the clothes into a neat pile where the older would find them. With one last glance at his best friend, he walked out of the cabin, ignoring any protests that the three other had for him as he settled down by the tree in the back. It was pitch black out and a little chilly, but Keith could still see just fine and he was used to the freezing air anyway. As he gazed through the dust-covered windows, he could see Lance’s shadow followed by Pidge’s as they moved about.

His thoughts roamed to Shiro. He hadn’t known the man for long, but he felt like he’d do anything to protect him. And he knew Shiro would do the same for him too. Keith felt his tail slap against the tree repeatedly before he stopped it. 

He liked Shiro a lot. And not in the way he liked the other Blades. Not in the way he really liked Red’s fiery thoughts in his head. Not even in a way he had liked his pops. This was different. 

He had never been around someone he liked like this.

He had a tiny crush on the man.

Shaking his head, he heard the door turn and open. Concentrating, his tail disappeared quickly, but he had no need to worry.

“Hey,” Shiro smiled softly as he approached. Keith blinked as the rising sun greeted his eyes, practically blinding him as he woke up all the way. He must have fallen into a semi-sleep, it was already morning.

‘Hey,’ Keith signed as the man sat right next to his side, warmth making him sigh happily, ‘You okay?’

“I’m fine,” Shiro chuckled as he stared at Keith before a frown pulled his lips, “I just wish Iverson would have listened to me. I wish he would have let you talk.”

‘It’s fine,’ Keith shrugged as the man sent him a wide-eyed expression before his eyes narrowed, ‘I’m used to it.’

“You shouldn’t have to be,” he stared sadly at Keith from inches away, “You shouldn't have had to use sign language in the first place. You shouldn't have been stuck with the druids.”

‘There's nothing you could have done,’ he reassured the man as he hugged him.

“I know,” Shiro nodded before he pressed his chin onto the smaller's shoulder, “I just wish we could have met under different circumstances. Maybe back at the Garrison. I hate what you've been through.”

‘You've been through just as much as me,’ the raven-haired man nodded as he moved his arms around, ‘But you've helped me in more ways than you could possibly know. You've changed my life.’

“Keith,” Shiro pulled him even closer as Keith buried his face into ebony hair, the white strands tickling his chest as Shiro rolled his head forward. They stayed like this for a few moments, enjoying the sunshine and arid gentle breeze. Desert birds chirped in the distance as Keith's sharp claws carefully scratched the man's undercut. Shiro let out a sigh of relief as he relaxed. 

“Do you know where the Blue Lion is?”

Keith shook his head before looking back at the shack. He had no clue where it was. It wasn't talking to him now. No energy was radiating from it. Keith felt the lion he'd been in. A low purr filled his head as it reassured him that it was okay. That they were safe for now. That no one would ever touch him or Shiro again.

‘The group might be able to help,’ Keith explained as his eyes glanced back at Shiro, ‘Hunk and Pidge seem smart...Lance...is annoying.’

“That's not a first,” Shiro snickered, no doubt having heard of the stories passed around in the cells about Keith's smartass gestures when the others really frustrated or angered him, “But yeah, we'll ask. Let's get going. The quicker we do this, the safer Earth and its people will be.”

Keith nodded in agreement as they helped each other up. Taking a quick side peek at the man, he grinned when he noticed he was right. The new clothes fit perfectly, clinging to his pale skin. Keith flushed ever-so-slightly as he glanced down at his own red and white boots. Seconds past before leather found his hands again.

“I saw you left this inside,” Shiro grinned at him softly, “It suits you, I think. Try it on.”

Keith agreed as Shiro helped him put it on. The collar of it nearly reached his jaw, hiding any scars on the sides of his neck as Shiro carefully ruffled the bandana.

“See,” grey eyes watched him warmly like silver moons, “You look great. Very beautiful.”

Keith's chest burst with heat and joy as Shiro coughed and turned red, mouth gaping. Keith laughed before his gaze went down to Shiro's lips. He really wanted to give his friend a quick kiss. He really did want to.

But they didn't have time. 

The energy was back.

Keith tugged the man's sleeve as he felt a wave crash into him. He didn't have much time before he became practically unresponsive to anyone.

“You feel it, don't you? Is it near?”

The energy surged. Ocean pounded into him violently. A lion's roar echoed through his head. It was close. Closer than ever.

Keith rushed back into cabin and slammed the door open, startling all three teens inside. His head throbbed as another wave hit him. He tore at crumbling papers rolled up in the corner. Finding a map of the area, he went out a few yards until he felt where the energy was strongest. Marking it down, he inspected the map quickly before shoving it to Shiro who nearly dropped it in his worry.

“Keith?”

‘West,’ Keith signed frantically as the energy called more fiercely than before, nearly knocking him to the ground as he grabbed his head. Shiro caught him by his biceps as his head landed against Shiro’s chest. His arms gestured quickly, ‘Caves.’

And then the waves turned into a whole ocean, drowning his senses in a cool feeling of numbness and soft care. He moved forward as it called to him.

_Come to me._

_Find me._

_Hurry._

_Save us._

_Find me._

_Find us._

_Hurry._

Arms wrapped around his chest. His first thought was to fight it, but his instincts told him that whoever was holding him was friendly. Was his friend. That same person had held him like this before. He relaxed into the hold as the energy throbbed into his skull again. This reminded him of the druids within his head, but more gentle. He didn’t feel the frightening power of evil magic, but the mothering sense of an old being with him.

Before he was aware of it, his feet were moving. 

_Come here._

_Find me._

_You are close._

_Hurry!_

_Save us!_

_Find us!_

_Unite us!_

By now, the waves pulsed like a heartbeat within his chest. The air grew chilled as he wandered forward. Every few seconds, the pulse flared higher like a bigger wave building upon the next. He could feel it as it pulled on him. There was tons of energy here, more than before. It felt like when he had found the Red Lion.

But he wasn’t quite there yet. He could feel it shift below him. There was no way down there, but it pulsed continuously.

Someone in the group spoke up saying something about lions and carvings and Voltron. The energy dulled before it flared more than before, blinding him with bright icy blue light in his eyes. Gravity pulled him down as the stone floor disappeared beneath his feet. An arm brushed his before he slammed into cold water. Gasping as the liquid went into his mouth, he spat it out as the energy faded away slowly. His mind cleared all the way.

The Blue Lion was close.

Keith stared down at the water that soaked into his black pants. Glancing left, he saw the younger three, all with their backs to him. Panicking slightly, he looked the opposite way before letting out a breath. Shiro sat there in the water, vest dripping water as he shook his head.

Bright blue blared in the corner of his eye as he gazed forward. Up on the smooth rocky ground sat the lion they were looking for. It was on its haunches, seeming to stare blankly at them. Keith stumbled to his feet as the others joined him, strolling to the shield protecting it. 

‘I don’t think I can get through the shield.’ 

Shiro nodded as he told the others what he had said. Lance marched up to it casually with an exclamation of just needing to knock on it. He rapped his fist on it only to yelp in surprise when the force field lowered itself. The lion roared as they all braced themselves. Its maw opened as Pidge and Hunk screamed in fear.

But it didn’t attack. It settled down with its jaw on the ground, allowing them access to the cockpit. Lance rushed up the ramp as Keith followed beside Shiro. Inside, the younger was inspecting the random buttons on the dash. He began pressing them in no particular order, causing the lion to jump up to its feet. Keith braced himself against the seat as he grabbed Shiro’s side on accident, hand not having time to make it to the other side of the chair.

Too soon, they were flying through the air, tumbling in dizzying circles as they busted out the side of a plateau. Keith wanted to shout about what the hell Lance was doing and where he was going when he answers.

“It says there’s an alien ship approaching Earth,” the guy shouts as they pass by the clouds. Launched into space, they talk some more before Hunk suggests to give the ship their lion. Keith gets why he says it, but he can’t agree. Shiro speaks out.

“You don’t understand,” he glares at the nervous big guy who only gives them a shaky smile as the younger two watch them from the seat front, “These monsters spread like a plague throughout the galaxy, destroying everything in their path. There’s no bargaining with them. They won’t stop until everything is dead.”

Keith points his thumb back in silent agreement as they all glare at a paling Hunk who just laughs weakly.

“Nevermind.”

As they leave Earth’s atmosphere, Keith nearly smacks his own face when an unhappy flare of flames speaks to him.

‘We forgot,’ Keith tugged Shiro’s sleeve as he gazed out at the beautiful view of blue water, white clouds, and green earth, ‘We have to get Red.’

“Shit,” Shiro cursed under his breath as he turned to the others, “We have to get the Red Lion. It’s back on Earth.”

“Wait, nobody said anything about a red lion!” Hunk roared as he gripped the chair, “It’s here? How did that happen?”

“We brought it here when we escaped,” Shiro explained as the lion started to turn around. In the corner of their eye, they saw a blast of purple light come at them. A large ship both he and Shiro were too familiar with sprang into shape behind them.

“Holy crow! Is that really an alien ship?”

“They found me,” his best friend stated hopelessly as Keith stared. He felt the same way, but he completely understood why Shiro was worried about himself. He was the one who had lost a limb. He was the one tortured until his hair floof turned pale as the clouds around them. Keith was never going to let them get Shiro again.

Suddenly, an idea popped up into his head. It was impulsive, but he wasn’t himself if he didn’t do something crazy. He explained the plan to Shiro in three hand sweeps.

“Lance, drop us out of the lion.”

“WHAT!” All three shouted with wide eyes.

“It’s too cold up here!” Pidge exclaimed as he threw his arms out, glasses gleaming, “And there’s no oxygen to breathe up here. You’ll get severely injured!”

“Just do it! Drop us off here and get moving. We’ll meet back up with you soon.”

Lance gave them one last glance before the floor opened up beside them. Keith glanced at Shiro again as silver eyes stared back at him. Neither wanted to jump, so they both reached out their hand before wrapping their fingers around their hands. One breath in, they slipped out into space.

Keith held his breath as the cold pulled on him. They both plunged back to the Earth, holding onto each other as the atmosphere dragged on them, ready to peel them apart like a meteor turned into dust. Keith slammed his eyes closed as he focused on the scarlet fire surrounding his mind. Hearing a roar in his head, he glanced up when Shiro tapped his arm frantically. The gigantic mechanical lion's jaws were wide open, ready to scoop them up in a blast as a physical growl left its throat. 

Keith landed with a hard bash to the back as Shiro smacked into his side. Groaning silently, Keith bolted upright as he raced to the pilot's seat. 

_Good kitty._ He spoke in his head as the lion purred, happy he was okay. _Let's roll._

Seeing a blue dot ahead being chased by the Galra ship, he threw his hand out, causing the lion to barrel forward as the machine's claws dug into purple metal. A loud screech echoed through the air before Keith pushed the lion to go forward. He came right up beside the other lion.

The screen automatically popped up with the three who were startled, eyes blown wide.

“What the heck, man?” Lance shouted as the other two nodded in agreement. Keith feels Shiro's hand on his neck as the man grabs the chair with his other arm. Lance goes on, “Holy crows! You guys-wait, the lion's telling me something.”

Just at that time, both Pidge and Shiro whispered, “Kerberos.”

Keith glanced out the tinted window to see a planet of ice and snow. So this was the one Shiro went to.

“It only took us seconds to get out here when it took us months.”

“Guys!” Lance shouted again, “The lion's telling me to go through that thing!”

And then a giant wormhole appeared. It swirled blue with a light blue gateway around it and Keith frowned as he realized the Blue Lion had made it. He didn't remember the lions being able to do that. At least, not in the legends. 

“Shiro,” the younger asks as the other two stare at the older human behind him, “You're the senior officer. What should we do?”

“I say we go through it if the lion's telling us to,” Keith nods his head quietly, agreeing with the his best friend, “But we should make this decision as a team.”

Keith smiled softly. He knew he was with Shiro. Wherever the older was going, he was. The trio all glanced at each other before their faces grew determined. 

“Looks like we're skipping class tomorrow.”

They both flew through the wormhole at the same time. The inside of the lions shook violently as Keith grabbed the handles tightly. He also wrapped his tail around Shiro's arm to keep him up right. More shaking before everything went silent. That is until Keith could hear someone - the big guy - throwing up in the background. Sharing a look with Shiro, his eyes roamed back to the front of his lion. A planet was below, looking almost identical to the planet they had just left. But-

“I don't recognize these stars,” Shiro muttered slowly as Keith understood where they were. The planet of legend that everyone had heard of but only the Blade had believed. 

‘Arus,’ Keith signed to no one in particular.


	4. Myths and Stories Yet Told

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They meet the Alteans who were thought to be dead. Keith had a lot to deal with between seeing memories that aren't his, worrying about Shiro, and keeping his Galra side hidden.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!

Keith carefully steered Red towards the ground. The lion’s energy rumbled into his soul as he noticed the Blue Lion touching down beside him. He smiled softly before glancing at his friend who continued to stare out the window. Keith wouldn't lie. He was worried about Shiro, but he knew the other would be unhappy with unwanted attention to him. So Keith brushed his tail against the man's side, which he smiled back at Keith.

“Let's get out there.”

‘Yeah.’

They both stepped out of the lion's mouth as Keith hid his tail. He glanced around in awe of the white stone courtyard. He'd heard so many legends of this planet since he had gotten to space. Some said that there was a Lion Goddess on the planet. Others said that it was a primitive species who lived there, incompetent and too far back in technology and knowledge that they weren't worth conquering. Barbarians who still believed in sacrifices and throwing themselves into flames whenever they deemed it fit to. And yet some said this was the sacred landing of the Castle of Lions.

No one had ever cared to look. Not even Zarkon or Haggar.

But this sure was a castle. It towered over them, over the lions. It was like a limestone mountain reaching up for this planet's clouds. But it was so bare of anyone. The grounds were well maintained, trees all healthy and proudly standing in rows. It's like no one lived here, but someone had taken care of the premises. No guarantee anything in the castle was in shape. Not after 10,000 years.

They joined the other three. Before they could move, the two lions got up and both roared.

“AHHHHHHH!”

“I KNEW IT WAS GOING TO EAT US!”

“AHH!”

Only Shiro and he weren’t screaming and that was because they weren’t afraid. Not after the Arena. But there was no way they could face one of the giant machines, much less two at one time between the five of them, three of whom were inexperienced. Something caught the corner of all of their eyes as they calmed down.

The door was open.

 _Of course, paladin,_ the rough purr in his head told him all he needed to know, soothing his concerns, _I am here to help._

 _Thank you._ Keith whispered into his head as they entered the castle. The doors were huge, and regular-sized steps sat there, ready to be climbed. All of them glanced at each other before moving forward.

“Hold for identity scan,” a robotic voice stated as bright blue lights surrounded them. Keith's heart leapt into his throat as the scanner paused at his waist. It was like it could scan his tail that wasn't there. It scanned back down to his knees before disappearing as it shot past his face. He and Shiro exchanged worried expressions before the lights kicked on, showing them down the halls. They reluctantly followed, taking in the white castle walls as it led them down endless hall after hall.

Finally, they came upon a room with dark grey circles in the middle. The room was bare but surprisingly dust free. They walked into the room and Keith went up to a small podium standing there. Pidge joined him as he inspected it.

“How does this work?”

A loud, smooth sound interrupted them as they glanced behind them. One of the circles was opening, a blue chamber sliding up at the slow rate. The frosty glass soon dissolved from bottom to top to reveal a…

Altean.

“FATHER!” She shouted as her hand shot out into open air. The white- haired woman swayed forward as fog left the cryopod. Luckily, Lance leapt across the room in time to prevent her from face planting. Keith held his breath, waiting for-

“And you're right here in my arms.”

Yep. Keith was sticking with his idea of the guy being annoying. Hopefully he'd realize that flirting didn't work on a lot of people in space. Or maybe it just didn't work on Galra? The Blade of Marmora had never been flirted with, and hardly by their own members. The Galra who guarded them hadn't ever seemed affected by the prisoners either. He didn't really know.

Then Keith snickered as the Altean proceeded to insult the human's ears. Shiro saw him and gave him a stern expression, but Keith didn't miss the tiny upturn of his lip. It was amusing. 

“Who are you?” She quickly snapped as she yanked Lance's hand behind him and threw him on his knee, “Where is King Alfor! What are you doing in my castle!”

Keith froze. He'd heard of King Alfor before. He was the one Zarkon had murdered and the reason why the Galra had Red all that time before Keith and Shiro had found it. He had been the Red Paladin before that. Zarkon had been the Black Paladin.

But if this was her castle...it couldn't have been the Altean king's wife. She supposedly died years before the war. That left their daughter, but she was also rumored to be dead along with Altea. Unless…

“We don't know what you're talking about,” Shiro stated calmly as Keith listened to the conversation again, “Why don't you tell us who you are. Maybe we can help.”

Her blue eyes stare at them for seconds before she frowns.

“I am Princess Allura of planet Altea,” Keith's stomach drops like a stone, “I have to find out where we are.”

It is the princess. The one Keith had heard lots about. Zarkon had known her personally. Haggar had known her too, in a different form, if any of the tiny snips of memories bouncing around in his head were to go by. While Haggar had been sifting through his head, he had somehow gotten glimpses of an Altean, magenta hair and red markings. A younger Zarkon had shown up once and as a baby with a helmet on-

“Enemy combatants!” Another voice shouted as Keith saw an orange-haired Altean jump at Lance who fell back in surprise, “Awh! You're lucky I have the case of the old sleep chamber knees. I'd grab you up like this. One, two, three. Sleepy time.”

Keith rubbed the ache on his temple. This man had been there too in the memory, fuzzy but very recognizable. He was off to the side as both King Alfor and his wife smiled and baby Allura cooed softly.

“It can't be!” The present Allura shouted as Keith looked over at her, “We've been asleep for 10,000 years!”

Keith crossed his arms. His tail formed and crept up to his arm without his consent. Luckily, everyone else was busy watching the princess to notice. Keith took comfort in his tail running over his fingers. It had been a comfort thing back in the cells, when things had gotten too rough and Keith needed to feel better.

“Zarkon!” 

Shiro's breath hitched as his eyes went wide. Keith stepped forward, ready to ground his friend as a sweat drop rolled from his cheek.

“Zarkon,” Shiro breathed out, likely remembering part of his memories. Keith rushed forward to place a hand on his shoulder as his own tail vanished.

“He was the king of the Galra. A vile creature and enemy to all free people!” The woman shouted with anger and contempt in her voice. 

“I remember now,” the older sighed as his grey eyes glanced at Keith before going to the woman, “Keith and I were his prisoners.”

“He’s still alive,” Allura gasped before her expression hardened even more, “Impossible. He can not still be alive.”

“You shouldn't be either,” Hunk poked out only to stutter a second later at her glare, “That came out wr-wrong. I mean…”

“You survived 10,000 years in the pods,” Pidge clarified as Keith frowned in thought, “Who's to say Zarkon didn't do the same?”

Keith knew that wasn't it. He remembered bits and pieces of hearing the guards and druids talk about Zarkon's prolonged life. It was something to do with quintessence. He'd tell Shiro, but the man didn't even know what quintessence was much less a sign for it. They hadn't mentioned it while in the cell together.

“But how is he alive?” Allura gritted her teeth, “The Galra may have destroyed my home and murdered my people, but they aren't smart enough to figure out the pods. Zarkon did not use a pod.”

Keith flinched slightly. It was true that they didn't have pods like the Alteans did. The Blade had even better technology than the Empire thanks to their team of engineers and Slav. They had healing machines that sped up the healing process, but not as well as the Altean ones were rumored to. But in no way were they stupid. They'd survived 10,000 years while sneaking their way into the Empire's highest positions offered besides Emperor. They had figured out a space-warp displacement machine to make their bases stronger and undetectable. They were excellent combatants, able to take on dozens of soldiers by themselves. They had even invented a hacking chip that could be placed under their nails unseen. 

Keith didn't like that the princess was sounding so against all Galra. She probably didn't know about the Blade but maybe she didn't care.

After all, Galra are all the same. Even if the Empire sees half Galra as less than even their prisoners. To everyone else, if you have a drop of Galra blood in you, you're bad. His time in the cells with the others had shown him that with vivid bruises painting his skin even when he had no injuries after a match.

“We can’t explain it,” Shiro whispered as Keith came out of his spiraling thoughts and nodded, “But he wants a superweapon named Voltron. He’s searching for it. Keith and I grabbed the Red Lion from him.”

“You found the Red Lion?” The other Altean, Coran, asked as he rubbed his moustache, “How? Only Allura’s able to find them because of her lifeforce being tied to the lions, unless…”

“What is it?” Shiro asked curiously with an edge to his voice, “Unless what?”

“Unless you five are meant to be the lions’ paladins,” Allura answered with a compliplating look, “How exactly did you find the lion?”

“Actually, Mullet found them,” Lance stated as Keith glared at him.

“That can’t be true.”

“It is,” Pidge nodded with a tiny grin, “He led us to the Blue Lion himself.”

‘It led me to it,’ Keith signed as they gazed at him. The two ancient people stared at him with frowns like they didn’t get why he was waving his hands around. Keith could see Shiro open his mouth to explain to them about what he had said, but a few squeaks echoed around the room. Keith tensed as everyone looked back in the cryopod the princess had been in moments before. Four small mice greeted them with handshakes and louder calls. Allura grinned happily.

“Coran,” she almost laughed, “We're not the last ones!”

“It seems we are not,” the man answered back before the alarm blared to life, scaring them all. The mice startled and Keith even saw one glare. Feisty.

“What's going on?” One of the younger shouted as scarlet lights flashed and a screen popped up from the dash. Coran gasped as the feeling of dread grew in Keith's stomach. He couldn't read Altean, but he knew this wasn't good.

“A Galra battleship is on its way!” The man shouted anxiously as a video showed up of a Galra ship, “It's set its tracker on us.”

“How did they found us?” The princess exclaimed as Keith glanced at Shiro who gave him the same look. What if Zarkon was tracking them? Keith's seen it happen before with other prisoners who were toyed with. They set the prisoner to escape and track them down, transforming them into broken corpses who died a painfully slow, agonizing death. Or if worse, Haggar got to mess around with them, doing her dark magic on them and turning them into mindless or paranoid figures. Last Keith knew, she'd been working on some new project with said prisoners. One that involved beasts.

Keith rubbed his forehead again as another burst of pain raced through his skull. A flash of wicked hackles echoed inside his brain. Momentarily, a scene appeared above him of an old woman stretching out her wrinkled purple fingers as white, frizzy hair floated around wildly. Yellow eyes glared at him with horrifying intentions.

**“Your mind will be mine shortly. You are too weak to resist my power. Give in.”**

Keith gasped as something touched his arm. Eyes wide with fright, he twirled on his heel, ready to attack whoever had bothered him. He felt his claws make themselves known as his fingers bit into his own palms. Keith's breathe came out quicker than he was prepared for. 

“Geez,” Keith heard the blue-clad teen ask, “What's wrong with him?”

“I don't know, Lance,” Shiro gazed at the man with harsh eyes as Keith felt warmth flicker in his chest over the sarcastic and protective tone, “Maybe the fact that Keith's been Zarkon's prisoner for awhile now. Alarms are usually a bad sign.”

“Oh,” Lance dropped it quickly as Keith felt a familiar hand on his shoulder. He calmed down after a moment as he gazed up at worried silver eyes. The older knew exactly what his flashback had been about. Keith gulped before grinning softly, squeezing his arm in silent reassurance that he was fine now. 

“How are we going to find the lions?” Pidge inquiried moments later as they glanced at the Alteans who were staring at them. 

“Follow me,” the younger spoke as she turned to leave. Left with no choice, they followed behind her down multiple hallways. She eventually came upon a bridge room. An explosion of stars lit up the air as she explained what each of them were flying and the qualities of their lions.

“The Red Lion is temperamental and the most difficult to master. It's faster and more agile than the others, but also more unstable.”

Temperamental, check. Fast and agile, check. Unstable...the hand on his shoulder now rubbed gently as Keith relaxed slightly. Shiro knew him too well. 

“Pidge and I will go find the Green Lion,” said man spoke with an authoritative voice, “Lance, you and Hunk take the Blue Lion to find the yellow one. Keith…”

‘I'll stay here.’

“You sure?” Shiro asked worriedly, glancing at the two Alteans quickly enough that Keith knew he'd picked up on Keith's fears, “You can always come with us.”

‘But what if the castle needs help?” Keith asked silently as his lion's rumbling purr echoed in his head, telling him it was the right decision to make, ‘If you guys are gone, someone will have to protect the castle. I can do it.’

“I know you can,” Shiro smiled fondly as he rubbed his thumb between Keith's neck and right shoulder, close to where his scar from the trial was, “Alright. Just stay safe.”

‘You too.’

“I will,” Shiro chuckled just enough for Keith to hear, and his stomach flopped at the sound as he smiled too.

“And I'll get the castle's defenses ready,” Allura spoke, “They be sorely needed.”

“And I'll ready you up with a pod to find the Green Lion,” Coran stated as he led the youngest and his best friend away. At the same time, Lance and Hunk disappeared out to their lion. Keith was now alone in the oddly quiet room with the Altean princess. 

She gave him a curious gaze as he crossed his arms, feeling uncomfortable with the stare that was too much like what the other prisoners had given him when he first was put into the cells. Open curiosity that would later turn into disgust and hatred. But Keith didn't look away as they silently watched each other.

A small beep pulled the Altean away from staring as Coran's voice blasted loudly enough for Keith to place a hand on his aching ear.

“They are ready for launch, princess!”

“Very well,” she answered as she turned to the middle of the room. Two beams came up from the floor at her command as she started up the wormholes with a bright blue glow overhead.

And then the oldest Altean stated something about only having two Earth hours to keep the wormholes open as the four rocketed into them with shouts of fear and slight anger. Keith took a deep breath in as he calmed down. Shiro would be fine. They'd make it back in that amount of time. They had to.

The door opened on the other side of the room as the orange-haired man strolled in with a clap of his hands. Keith rubbed his ear again as it rang slightly, just enough it annoy him. These ears felt weird after years with sharp points. Humans had terrible hearing it seemed. Keith couldn't quite hear as much as he did in his Galra form. But he didn't need it to hear the two Alteans whispering across the room. 

“You need to rest, princess.”

“I will,” she reassured before her voice went hard, “After the Galra are all defeated.”

“Princess…”

“They killed Father,” her voice cracked as Keith stared out the nearest window, “They destroyed my home, my people. My friends…”

Silence greeted him for a moment. He understood some of what she was going through. Keith had had a home once. His pops had been his best friend and his ideal until the Event. His world had fallen apart when he was just ten. 

“They're gone,” she sobbed softly as Keith hugged himself, “And it's all _their_ fault.” 

Keith bristled. There went his hope of ever telling the Altean he was part of the people she despised. At best, she'd just be mean to him. Call him names or ignore him like he wasn't there. Treatment he was used to. At worse…

Keith felt his control slip. Glancing down at his wrist, he could see purple spreading in swirling dots. His claws extended all the way again as he picked at his jacket. His teeth elongated into sharp fangs that scraped his tongue. He even felt his eyes flicker weakly as he held his breath. He tried to force it back to human form. He put all of his energy into it and painstakingly slowly, his skin reabsorbed its milky tan color.

“What is that noise?”

Keith froze. His now-formed tail thumped against the white wall behind him at an erratic pace, growing louder every few seconds. He snatched up the end as he shivered. His form was still acting up wildly. Red whispered in his mind, giving him a point to focus on. 

**”Patience yields focus.”**

He took a deep breath in and out before settling down. His teeth dulled down as his eyes flashed one last time. Everything turned back to normal except his fangs.

Just in time as the two supposed-to-be-dead-and-long-gone Alteans wandered up to his side. 

“Keith,” her blue eyes stared at him...with worry clear in those icy hues, “Are you okay?”

Keith swallowed before nodding hesitantly. He continued to hug himself though. 

“Come along,” Coran exclaimed as he led Keith from the room, “You can help get some drinks for everyone. They'll need it.”

Keith nodded as the man led him to a supply room filled with water pouches, not unlike those they got in the cells. He handed one to the younger who drank it all as soon as it touched his tongue. They hadn't had water in over a day now. He grabbed an armful as he walked back to the bridge. He was going to make sure Shiro got at least three of these as soon as he got bac-

Keith paused with a warm blush creeping up on his face. Since when had he been this protective of his best friend? Fighting to the death to save him, yeah. But making sure he didn't collapse from dehydration...

 _Since he took care of you like a Galra mate would,_ Red grinned in his head, a flare of pleasant scarlet, _I've been around long enough to know the traditions._

 _Red,_ Keith practically whined in his mind before smiling sweetly. The lion really did care about him. A purr reassured him of it as the lion snickered. 

“And they're back,” Allura spoke up as Keith pulled his attention to her, arms still full of the bottles, “They'll be in shortly.”

Keith grinned before he scoffed. The lion laughed again, prodding him towards the main entrance. Following along, Keith just got to the door when it opened to show an excited Pidge who looked ready to run around with arms wide. The flight must have been lots of fun. Shiro stood off to the side with a grin on his face, more relaxed than Keith had ever seen. Looking him over, he didn't see any new injuries or anything, so he pushed one of the jugs into his mechanical hand.

‘Drink,’ he commanded and Shiro only tilted his head before carefully opening it and taking a sip. He grinned down at Keith who nearly melted at the expression as he felt a warmth spread to his limbs and chest. He glanced away, hoping his blush wouldn't give him away. Seeing green, he remembered that the youngest was still there as he tapped his shoulder. Golden eyes watched him until he gave the teen another pouch.

“What is this?”

“Water,” Shiro explained and emptied his out with the next swallow. Keith shoved another one into his arms as Shiro protested. 

“You need to drink some water.”

‘I've had some already.’

“I don't want to take too much,” Shiro rubbed his head sheepishly, “Hunk and Lance still need some, and if Pidge-”

“Just drink some more,” Pidge interrupted as he raised a brow, “You were knocked out with sedatives. That dehydrates you.”

“But-”

‘There's plenty left.’ Keith signed as he pressed the thing to Shiro's chest.

“We have a whole storage room full,” Coran stated from the dash up front, “After all, this castle was made for the company of many many people.”

Shiro studied them all for a moment before he smiled and drank it all. Just as he finished, the door opened to a complaining Lance and upset Hunk who groaned.

“Next time,” Lance glared at them, “We're going to the peaceful planet. What?!? You guys! What are you drinking?”

“Uh...water.”

“You leave for two hours and miss everything,” Lance groaned before swiping a pouch from Keith's arms with a smirk, “So Mullet-”

“Lance,” Shiro rolled his eyes at the competitive teen. Keith raised a brow before he walked around the guy and gave the big one a drink.

“Thanks, man,” Hunk smiled at him before the princess walked through the door. They all stopped to stare at her. She was dressed in a battlesuit of mainly white and pink as she held a staff in his left hand. Her long hair was up in a bun.

“You five will need your armor,” she spoke with clenched fists and determination in her eyes. The oldest in the room looked ready to open his mouth when the screen flickered a few times before coming on.

A Galra appeared on the screen with the right eye missing. He was wearing the orange armor of a high commander. The light and shadows twisted his face, making him look even more sinister. He seemed familiar to Keith for some reason. He could feel Shiro tense by his side as the man began to speak. 

“Princess Allura, this is Commander Sendak of the Galra Empire,” Keith glanced at his friend subtly, finally understanding why he was acting strangely. This was one of the Galra who had overseen Shiro. Some of Shiro's scars came from this man. Keith nearly hissed angrily as he glared at the monster. He was never harming him again, “I come on behalf of Emperor Zarkon, Lord of the Known Universe.”

Shiro tensed more as they all watched on. Keith's tail rubbed across his broad back comfortingly. 

“I am here to confiscate the lions and the two who stole the red one,” he stared at them before narrowing his eyes, “Turn them over to me, or I will destroy your planet.”

The message faded, leaving behind blue skies. They were still for a few moments before the group freaked out. 

“What are we going to do!”

“What the crow is happening! Coran! You said a few days!”

“Oh quiznak! It seems I miscalculated! Finger-counting is more of an art than a science.”

“Guys,” Shiro tried to calm them and bring reasoning to the panicking group.

“He knows about the Red and Blue Lions.”

“We're gonna die! I don't wanna die!”

“GUYS!” Shiro shouted as everyone froze, “Let's figure this out as a team. What can we do?”

“We can take off with the lions,” Hunk stated with a scared expression, “Form a lion chain thingie and wormhole our way out of here.”

Keith protested as soon as the man started talking.

‘We can't leave!’ He scowled as he stepped forward threateningly, ‘The planet will be destroyed anyway. We have to stop Sendak.’

Shiro quickly told them what he said.

“Oh, yeah?” Lance snapped, “What do you know, Mullet?”

Only the tight grip on his shoulder stopped him from smashing the asshole's face in. Keith's blood boiled as he wreathed in his fury. Keith was the one who had been in space for nine years! He knew more than they did about how the Empire conquered planets and then destroyed them. He probably knew more than even the Alteans on how the Empire behaved.

“Enough!” Allura screamed as they stopped, “We must get you in your armor and into your lions. You have to form Voltron.”

They nodded as they were taken to a room that lit up. In front of them were five cases filled with armor that had Keith in awe. He automatically walked over to the one with red. Staring into the clear glass, he glanced back to Shiro when the man said it was time to suit up.

Time flew by after that. They all got dressed and got a bayard. His became a three-foot long katar-type of sword that felt just right in his hand. Even his regular blade didn't feel this easy to hold.

And then it turns out that Shiro doesn't have a bayard because it's gone with the past paladin. With Zarkon.

But Allura doesn't tell them that so Keith's the only one to know. He really hopes she tells them soon instead of deceiving them. 

After that, they rush to the Black Lion who Keith can feel too. The call reminds him of Shiro in every way. The calming flicker of violet in his mind like a spring breeze. The warm presence as big as a mountain but not at all imposing. The need for protecting the pride. Red rumbles in his head as he races up the ramp. The Black Lion appears as the rest roar and it joins in with them.

The battle goes even faster for Keith. It's one big ball of overwhelming fear and adrenaline. They eventually manage to blow up the ship after almost being captured. Keith is so in awe and amazed and tired that he doesn't even notice his ears have lengthened themselves nor that his claws were back out. Nobody else does either.

They chat for a bit before the Altean takes them to their rooms down a long hallway. Shiro is shown to his room first, and Keith peeks inside before he frowns. The bed was way too small, and he knows they are both going to have big issues in the night. Their cell cot was surprisingly bigger than this mattress was, although stained and torn.

Shiro sees the look on his face and gives him a sympathetic expression. He opens his mouth to probably ask for a bigger room when Keith shakes his head.

‘It's better than what we had,’ Keith explained with big eyes, ‘I'll be in here in a little.’

The man nodded as the princess led them to their own rooms. Keith is put into the one on the other side of Shiro, wall of his bed to the wall of Shiro's. He sat down on the bed before looking around. This room felt lonely and cold like ice was creeping into the air. 

Sighing, he removed his jacket and belt. Laying down, he tucked the blanket over himself as he frowned. He felt vulnerable without a weapon nearby. He used to sleep with his knife under his pillow until he lost it while getting captured. It killed him to leave it behind, but he couldn't keep it and expect the Empire to not take an interest on him. Hopefully...hopefully, he'd find it again. 

Keith snuck into Shiro's room moments later. When he got to the door, he knew something was going on. His sensitive ears picked up grunts of pain and whimpers. Shiro was having a nightmare.

Rushing to the bed, Keith grabbed Shiro's shoulders, shaking them roughly. Shiro muttered something as he pawed at Keith's chest blindly. Keith pulled the other close as he fought the younger. Thinking quickly, Keith ran his clawed fingers through the older's hair. Shiro hand scratched down on Keith's shoulder with a bruising force before he jerked awake with a gasp.

“K-Ke-ith.”

Keith hugged the larger man to him even tighter as he settled them both back on their sides. His tail brushed Shiro's cheek as the other let out a shaky breath. Keith continued to run his fingers over Shiro's neck and undercut for minutes as Shiro rested his head to his chest. 

“Thank y-you.” Shiro muttered slowly as they both relaxed. Keith just buried his head onto the man's head as he shoved the blanket over them. They were packed so close to each other that any other time, Keith would have blushed. But he yawned as Shiro's breathing evened out and curled his tail around the man's left arm. Everything faded as he slipped into a deep sleep.


	5. Training and New Rooms for All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They get a day of training in. Things don't go as Shiro hopes, but at least they all get new rooms.

Shiro groaned as an annoying blaring noise woke him up. Slowly, Shiro felt something cool and hard at his back. Something warm laid out on him as a low rumble vibrated against his chest. Something soft tickled his nose, filling the air with a calming, familiar scent. Shiro relaxed even as the sirens tore his ears off. They were probably safe in their cell anyway. No one ever bothered them in…

 _Paladin,_ a voice interrupted as he tensed, _Up. It is time to awake._

Wait, what?

 _Paladin,_ the same voice echoed as the noise flared again in a higher pitch, something the Galra cells had never done before. Shiro tried to ignore it as the weight on his abdomen shifted the slightest. He felt a grin mark his face before the siren screamed again in his ears along with a startling roar.

Shiro jerked awake, eyes flying open as he froze. Glancing up, he was surprised to see white walls in the place of what should have been dark grey. He limply laid there as the noise from before tugged him even more awake. The rumbling on his chest stopped for a moment before it went on, steady and undisturbed. Shiro blinked as he took in the rest of the room.

He was on the floor, sprawled out as the blue blanket sat innocently up on the bed a foot from his face. The noise still echoed around the room as Shiro’s head pounded in his skull, getting worked up over the sound. Alarms were never good things. He moved his right arm, feeling around to get some idea of what was going on. His hand brushed the thing on him as it shifted again, letting out a tiny puff of warm air against his neck as the vibrations got more intense. Shiro rubbed his fingers against soft hair and smooth skin. 

Wait, besides the blaring sound, things were too good. He was warm and happy, if not a bit hungry. But he should be in pain right now or cold. Everything was wrong. Everything felt so off.

He wasn’t in the cells.

Blinking a few times, it came rushing back into his mind. 

He was in a castle with two Alteans. Three cadets he vaguely remembered from a time before Kerberos were there too. There were space mice and a fight and the Galra-

Keith.

Glancing down at his chest, he nearly chuckled as he saw Keith resting against him. The younger was curled up in a ball like he always had been back in the cells, trying a keep himself warmer and keep Shiro’s core warm. His sharp ears were poking out of his tinted hair as he gripped Shiro’s shirt. It was a shock that the half-Galra was not awake yet, since he always woke to the smallest sounds. Something rubbed at Shiro’s neck as he patted at Keith’s back.

“Keith.”

Keith’s tail smacked his nose in annoyance as the siren died off into nothing, leaving the rest of the air silent until Keith’s tail slapped Shiro again, brushing against the scar.

“Keith,” Shiro sighed exaggeratedly as he gently pushed Keith off of him, “Wake up, Keith.”

Keith’s mouth moved a few times before he started forming half-sloppy signs that Shiro couldn’t quite understand. The older man laughed as Keith sent him a half-hearted glare. The yellow of his eyes only made it that much funnier as Shiro raised a brow at Keith’s still-annoyed expression. The smaller man stared back at him with a flat look before he smirked too. His head flopped into Shiro’s thigh as he laughed silently.

“Keith,” Shiro continued once he got his breath back, “You were out, buddy. Haven’t seen you sleep that much before.”

Keith tilted his head with a raised brow before he nodded in agreement and signed something really quickly. Shiro grinned as he brushed a hand through Keith’s hair, to which the other leaned in. Shiro soon noticed that he was in his regular clothes, having just decided to wear them to bed the night before, since he could still fight in them. They had to be ready at any moment there was an attack.

Attack…

**“Take them back to the main fleet for interrogation,” the voice grumbles from the other side of a screen as a strange being - Galra - stands ten feet in front of him as his head aches and muscles clench, “The druids will find out what they know.”**

**“Please! We come from a peaceful planet-”**

Shiro blinks as he comes back to the room. He had had a nightmare the night before, like he always did. This time was about when he had first met Zarkon. About how he had heard rumors about the man before he had any real idea who he was. Some said that he had been alive for over 10,000 years. Others claimed that the man had a prisoner of almost every species in his prisons. The fact that the man had murdered billions of innocent lives in his quest for whatever he wanted only made it worse. Shiro disliked the man the more he learned about him, and he hated that the man had part in why Keith was tormented for so long. Keith had told him that the day he’d been captured, Zarkon had given him to the witch as a gift. No one but she was allowed to mess with him, by Zarkon’s orders.

Keith’s now giving him a concerned look. Shiro only smiles back reassuringly as he shrugs.

“I think we should go out there,” the man nods to the door, “They might need us. There was an alarm going off. Got your bayard?”

Keith nodded, producing his weapon in a quick motion of his tail. Shiro blinked, wondering where Keith had kept the thing to get it that quickly. He hadn’t felt it when he’d been pressed against Keith.

Shiro felt his cheeks heat up as he glanced away with a tiny grin. Luckily, his best friend didn't notice as he brushed off his grey shirt. They both glanced at each other before strolling out the door cautiously as they paused, not hearing anything. The long halls were deathly silent with only the hum of the giant castle's working parts. The air vent kicked on beside them, causing them both to tense.

After a moment, they both agreed to enter the bridge they were on yesterday. Maybe that's where everyone else was. So they carefully stalked up to the room with mostly silent footsteps. Glancing one time at each other, they prepared themselves as the door opened slowly. 

Inside, everyone was standing around. The three younger cadets looked exhausted like they had just woken up. The Alteans, however, seemed wide awake as they bustled about - or at least, Coran was. Allura looked annoyed as she glared at the three youngest before she turned to them.

“There you two are,” she huffed as she crossed her arms, “It's like you humans cannot hear correctly. And where is your armor? At least you two showed up somewhat prepared!”

“What's going on?” Shiro asked worriedly as he glanced over the three others who were just as lost. Keith shrugged by his side, “Can you please explain?”

“We had a practice alarm go off,” she explained with a flat look, “Because the Galra will not wait just because you're tired. You must respond to the warning system.”

“Indeed,” Coran nodded his head as he picked up a strange device from the floor, “I even yelled out that Allura was dead.”

Shiro raised a brow. He didn't remember anyone talking when the alarm went off.

“I must not have heard it,” Shiro muttered before turning to the younger Altean, “What do you need us to do?”

“We have to update the castle,” the woman smiled before frowning deeply, “After 10,000 years, it's bound to have problems. Coran and I will work on that while you five train.”

“Train?” Hunk asked quietly with a raised brow, “I don't know about you? But humans need eight hours of sleep, man. I'm still too tired.”

“Yeah,” Lance protested as he took a sip of - whatever he was drinking and Shiro didn't want to know what it was - before grinning, “I gotta keep up on my beauty sleep.”

“What kind of training?” The youngest inquired with a brow moving up, “What will we be doing?”

“Training to become better paladins, of course!” Coran answered enthusiastically from the back as he wiped a wall until it sparkled, “Even the original paladins had to train often to better become one! They were tied-to-the-hip when they were done!”

“The original paladins?” Pidge questioned, ever curious as Shiro himself listened in more intensely. He vaguely remembered stories he'd heard from the cells about a group of five people who had been special in some way. Each from a different planet. It was just a myth though, he'd been told.

But then again, Voltron itself had been a myth.

“The paladins before you,” Allura nodded, and Shiro watched as Keith stared at her intently, eyes narrowed slightly as if waiting for something, “My father had been one of them. But that doesn't matter right now. Now we need to take down Zarkon and the Galra.”

Keith frowned disappointedly at that, so Shiro knew something was not being said. The princess wasn't telling them something. He'd either get it from the half-Galra later or wait until the princess told them.

“Okay,” Hunk spoke up as he raised both eyebrows, “I get that. Save the universe and all, but can't we have some food first?”

“Do you think Zarkon will not attack just because you don't want to start your training?”

“We know,” Shiro sighed as all of their stomachs growled at once, giving her a flat stare, “It would be nice to get some food first. Fuel for more training.”

“Alright,” she raised a thin brow before nodding, “Let's go eat.”  
She led them through too many halls as they stopped in a large room. Coran moved into what looked like a kitchen as they stood in the doorway. It was nothing fancy, but was just as big as the Garrison cafeteria had been. There was a counter that Coran popped a plate out of. Before they could so much as say anything, the older man shooed them away to a nearby table. Said table was super long, holding about ten chairs on each side and one on each end. Shiro carefully sat down at the front as Keith settled to his right. The three younger chose spots further away while Allura sat on the other end.

The orange-haired man pulled the lid off of the dish he had. Inside were purple licorice-looking noodl-

Actually, Shiro didn't think it had an Earth equivalent, but it looked kind of like a squid tentacle with pink spots and yellow juice flowing from a few pores. How it had survived 10,000 years was beyond Shiro's apprehension. Coran couldn’t have grabbed it from anywhere else yet.

His stomach growled again, as the others grabbed their own. With a deep breath, Shiro dug his fork into the “food” as it squished messily on the plate. Putting it in his mouth, he decided he could skip breakfast as a sour flavor flared on the back of his tongue. It tasted like rotten pickles and sweaty toes.

Shiro swallowed it weakly as he set the fork down quietly on the plate. He glanced over at Keith as he grimaced at aftertaste. The man glanced back at him with both brows up in question as he munched on a tentacle that wiggled some. Shiro felt his own lips pull down into a frown as he watched the “food” squirm. He suddenly knew that the thing was not as dead as he had thought it to be. Keith had to have been eating it with his razor sharp teeth because the others lost them as soon as they touched their mouths.

Speaking of Keith, Shiro remembered waking up from his nightmare the night before, panicking until gentle claws ran over his overcut. It had pulled him back from the fear of the Arena as he remembered that he was in the castle. He was safe…or as safe as he would get in the middle of a universal war. Keith was safe and protected here, given the fact no one found out about his Galra side. Shiro didn't want him to hide that side, but he plainly remembered the one time they had been allowed with the other prisoners after they shared a cell. 

It had been two weeks in when they had been guided to the lunchroom, not the Arena. That alone had Shiro tensed. He hadn't had contact with the other aliens in nearly two months. They were separated because isolation made people more compliant. It made sure no one could hatch escape plans with each other, especially not if they didn't have strong allies helping.

But when they got in, the aliens had their eyes on the person by his side. Shiro had watched as they called him names that he didn’t quite understand, but knew were cruel based off of Keith's tail clinging to his hand. He witnessed some of them take cheap shots at Keith, leaving him with some bruises and cuts, hair ruffled and clothes tugged. The whole time, Keith refused to look up at anyone, staring blankly at his feet as if he heard none of it. Shiro knew he heard everything. If he didn't know better, he'd say that Haggar still had an interest in Keith, doing everything she could to torture the younger. Shiro had strolled up to the Galra's side and sat by his side with a glare at anyone who dared look at them with any ill intent. As they talked with sign language, Shiro noticed that no one was brave enough to mess with Keith. 

They never went back to the feeding area after that. 

And now, Shiro didn't want Keith to feel the same way. Not here. Not with their allies and possible friends. He understood from what little he'd heard that Allura was likeliest to be angry about Keith's blood. She lost everything and Shiro understood that. But he also knew hating a whole group for one's actions never worked. Earth history showed that many times throughout history. His own ancestors had the same problem hundreds of years ago. For living legally in the country that was at war with their home country. 

It hit close to home for Shiro.

So he continued to watch Keith. That was the best sleep they'd gotten in a long time, but they couldn't end up on the floor every night. And Shiro knew it would be every night. They couldn't sleep away from each other, the nightmares too bad on their own. And Keith couldn't call out for Shiro or let someone notice his frightening dreams. He had to be physically within reach. Shiro only knew from him and his sporadic twitching. But they didn't have enough room on the bed. He didn't want to wake up from a nightmare to find he'd accidentally smashed the younger into the wall or something. He didn't mind the close contact with the other, but…

The idea from last night came into mind. 

Keith seemed to read his mind as he gave him that don't-you-dare glare as Shiro stood up. The noise around the room died off as the other five stared at him.

“Everything alright, Number One?” Coran asked from his left side, about to hand out another round of some type of food Shiro really _really_ didn't want to eat. This was almost worse than the cement bread Keith and he had back in the cells. More rubbery but just as tasteless and salty. Glancing out of the corner of his eye, he saw Keith not looking at him anymore, munching on the tentacle-looking meal like it was edible. 

Shiro sighed softly as he turned his full attention back to the advisor and princess. Keith was putting up a front. He didn't actually mind what Shiro was going to ask. Just a bit embarrassed and scared to even think of asking. Shiro couldn't blame him, considering his past. 

“Princess,” he kept his tone very light, “Do you have any larger rooms we can stay in?”

“Why the quiznak would you need bigger rooms?” She asked with a shocked head tilt, not unkindly, but confused, “Is it not enough space for you earthlings?”

“Yes,” Shiro admitted with a reassuring smile, “It was big enough. But not for two people.”

“Two people?”

“Two people!”

“What is he talking about?”

Shiro pretty much ignored the others’ exclamations as he noticed Keith was sitting there twirling his food around nervously. Allura raised her hand as everyone settled down.

“By two people,” she glanced between them without an judgement in her icy eyes, “You must be meaning you and Keith.”

“Yes,” Shiro nodded as Keith joined in hesitantly, “It's easier to sleep if we're there with each other. We...uh...shared a cell for awhile.”

Shiro ignores the stares they receive from the younger three. Coran just scoots about doing some cleaning as if he thinks it's normal for a guy to be telling them he wants to share a room with someone on the same team.

Maybe it was a normal thing.

“Alright,” the Altean nodded in understanding as she picked up the food on her fork as she considered the request, “We do have some quarters up in the upper wings of the castle, right Coran?”

“Right you are, princess!” The man nodded enthusiastically as he scrubbed something, all his attention on them though, “Like I said yesterquintant, my grandfather made the castle 10,600 years ago! He was brilliant enough to add in plenty of rooms of which some were much more regal than the barracks where you slept vargas ago. After all, this castle was made for many many people, Altean and not. I believe Allura has the biggest room, but we have some not far from the lions’ hangars. We'll grab a room for all of you as soon as training is over for today!”

“Am I hearing this right?”

“Woah…”

“What!?! We're getting better rooms!” Lance shouted excitedly before pausing at the flat looks the Alteans gave him, “What? The rooms we're in kind of suck. Sorry.”

“I have to agree with him,” Pidge nodded as he smiled apologetically, “These rooms are cramped.”

“They're great and all,” Hunk stared as the Alteans glanced at him, “But it feels...unhomey. I miss my old room back at my mom and dad's home. Heck, I miss the Garrison room Lance and I were sharing before this crazy adventure.”

“Then it's settled,” Allura grinned softly as they all stood up with Shiro, “We'll place you in the new rooms once you train. However, that may take all day. So go suit up and meet me back at your lions outside.”

Shiro waited as the three energetic teens rushed out before he fell in step with Keith who smiled up at him before signing something.

“Of course, Keith,” Shiro laughed gently as his hand found the other's warm shoulder, “A new bedroom would be great after how long we've been on a cell cot or lumpy couch or squished bed. I'm sorry if you wanted to keep it more priva-”

Keith cut him off with a tug of his wrist. A bright grin lit up his lips as Shiro felt himself freeze. His face flashed with intense fire as he watched the other snicker silently, ebony hair swishing into his face. Keith was relieved, it seemed. Shiro followed him as the younger marched to the room Shiro had been using. Before he could so much as blink, Keith shoved him into the open doorway, mock saluted (something Shiro had shown him when they had been bored), and rushed off around the corner to his own room.

Shiro chuckled happily as his door closed. He shook his head, white floof falling into his eyes as he stripped from his casual clothes. Getting the snug black suit on, he popped the armor on with a few clicks, adjusting it to fit to his body. Rubbing a hand through his bangs, he gazed around the room before leaving.

He didn't meet anyone on the way out to his lion, but he did see them as the lions emerged from the ginormous building. Green was first followed by Red and then Blue and Yellow. They parked next to him as Black rumbled in his head, a low and steady and powerful voice.

“Alright, guys,” Shiro spoke up as he grabbed the handles, “Let's do this. We need to form Voltron in order to save the universe. But we have to understand what we did yesterday to make it. Let's test it out. Everybody with me?”

“Yeah!” They answered back as Shiro gripped his lion's bars tighter. The lion's rumble echoed slightly around him but didn't change any.

“Form Voltron!”

…..

Turns out they can't get Voltron to form again. They try for hours upon hours. The sun creeps eerily slow from one side of the planet to the other as they come together to create the giant weapon. Shiro swears this planet must have a much longer rotation that Earth because it drags on and the night still doesn't settle in. They stack on top of each other. Allura sets lasers on them. They try some fighting with the bot devices, which goes horribly wrong because none of them can work as a team besides him and Keith. Pidge goes down after the first two seconds as Hunk follows with a yelp. The rest of them last a bit longer but Lance eggs on Keith until the half-Galra is out of the rink with a laser shot to the leg. Lance blocks a few shots as Shiro raises his shield, but soon is hit. Shiro falls after that with no one to watch his back.

Then they do an invisible maze...which Keith can't participate in because they have to tell the other person where to go. So Shiro stays by his side as silent support.

Then they fly their lions all over again. But this time, Coran tells them to go into a nosedive. And then the lights shut off.

Shiro freezes for a second, fear flaring at the pitch blackness. He feels his lion in his head, a small trickle of a rumble around his body. It calms him enough to not panic.

The others aren't so lucky. They scream and cry as Shiro grips the handles. He knows Keith has to be afraid at the moment because from what little he remembers of the druids’ experiments, sensory deprivation had been one of them. Shut off the lights, the person gets scared. Do it too long, the person goes crazy.

At least Keith could hear everything. Shiro wasn't too worried as the force of gravity pulled on him. He heard Hunk yell out and pull out of the dive. That rumble grew gradually under Shiro felt it snap. Opening his eyes, he was surprised as his vision sparked. His body was floating on air as the lion roared in his mind. A bright flash later, Shiro saw himself tumbling down a large hillside. Seeing the ground rush up to his face, he pulled up from his plunge just in the nick of time, shaving some stone off the mountainous track. Weaving around the rocks poking out of the ground, he flew on with the help of his lion. 

What had be a minute later, the helmets turned back on, allowing light to flood in to his eyes. Blinking he settled the giant machine down by the other four as they cheered.

“Good job, Number One!” Coran shouted excitedly, “Now that is how you bond with your lions!”

“Oh man!” Hunk laughed, “We were like CRASH and you just took off and we were worried. And then yo-”

“You flew it without any sight!” Pidge screamed incredulously, but the man could hear the happiness in his voice.

“This is why Shiro's the best pilot!” Lance complimented as Shiro shook his head, “He was the best even at the Garrison. Remember that time when he beat the highest record?”

“Thanks, Lance,” Shiro smiled before he grinned fondly at the Red Lion, “But Keith is even better than I am.”

 _‘Only because I've been flying longer,’_ a voice spoke, a bit growly in tone and not quite human, _‘I knew you could do it, Shiro.’_

“Holy crow!” One of the younger shouted as Shiro's eyes widened in shock, “What was that!”

“More like who was that!” The Green Paladin shouted, “There's nobody else here but us!”

Shiro didn't say anything as they talked on. He got what it had been. He just waited because he knew it would happen again. 

_‘Guys, it's me,’_ the voice spoke up before the voice grew louder, _‘Keith. The Red Paladin. Your teammate.’_

Everyone went silent. Even Coran didn't speak for a moment.

“Nice to have you with us, Keith!” Shiro grinned as the others let out surprised shouts. A chuckle ran through the connection as Shiro focused on the lions vibrations.

 _‘Red's helping to give me a voice,’_ he explained as he paused for a moment, _‘But Red can only do so while I'm inside the cockpit. Otherwise, it'll take too much energy.’_

“Hey,” Pidge shouted with a small smile on his screen, “It'll help us in battle. It's kind of hard to communicate and fight without our voices over the comms. And I'll make a messaging system for when you are out of the lion.”

 _‘Thanks,’_ Keith responded back as Shiro saw him grin on the screen. A moment of silence echoed around the group before Coran called them to meet back up at the training deck. When they entered the room, he had five headband devices waiting for them.

“To be good paladins,” the man exclaimed as they each took one, “You have to exercise your mind as well as your muscles. This ‘ill do the trick to knock your minds into a meld right away in battle! I'll be back shortly!”

And then he took off. The five of them glanced at each other with raised brows and lost expressions before placing them on their heads. Taking a deep breath, Coran soon instructs them to clear their minds and relax. Shiro's automatically think back to the desert, the moment when Keith had laughed at a passing lizard. His bright smile, eyes narrowed happily as the sunlight hit his pale skin well, hair ruffled by the dry breeze.

Soon enough, Shiro's attention is pulled another direction as they form a model Voltron. Pidge is having lots of trouble with it, however, so they take a water break, each receiving water pouches as they gulp them down.

“What are you doing sitting around?” Allura exclaims with drawn brows and a deep frown, “It's time to face the gladiator!”

They all groan before getting up. Something tugs on his flesh arm, and Shiro smiles as he looks to the side to see Keith grinning back. Said younger man pulls him to his feet as Shiro grabs his outstretched hand. Allura leads them to another part of the same training deck. Setting them up as they were against the bots, she leaves the room as they blink and brace themselves. A patch in the ceiling opened as they twirl around. Out falls a machine that acts a bit like the Galra sentries but much skinnier and tougher.

The bot goes right for Hunk as he pulls his heavy gun up, missing the machine and nearly hitting Keith who barely gets his shield up in time. A staff to the stomach, and the Yellow Paladin goes down. Pidge soon joins him on the floor as the machine slams him to the side. Lance goes to challenge the gladiator only for the thing to bop his head and throw his gun to the side. Shiro tenses as Lance goes flying across the room.

The gladiator faces them then. They both tense as it goes at them, racing their way. Shiro shares a glance with Keith, knowing they could take the machine on. Keith nods back as he forms his sword. Shiro himself activates his arm, hearing the slight wisp of machinery kicking in. 

But he doesn't expect the gladiator to trigger memories. His vision flashes as fear courses his veins. Sentries rush at him as he tries to escape. The faces of three Galra surgeons stare at him as they take his arm from him. He gets a deep claw wound to the chest as an alien slams down on him, cutting off his air until he chokes on nothing, body frozen.

And then a clash startles him back to the present. He blinks exhaustedly as he becomes aware of what is going on. Keith is standing protectively in front of him with his sword up, blocking the staff. Shiro can see the other shake. Before he can do anything, Keith ducks under the staff and slams into the machine, throwing them both further than should be possible for a human. With some sparks of colliding metal, the bot finally gets a hit in to Keith's side as he zooms across the room. Shiro doesn't have time to shout before he's slammed into the ground, the dazed Red Paladin on top of him.

“What was that?” The princess screamed as she marched up to them, “That level was set to fit for an Altean child! None of you are remotely ready for this! You are not working as a team. You need more work!”

“I'm starving!” Pidge shouted as he crossed his arms, “We haven't had anything to eat all day!”

“Yeah!” Lance protested as the rest nodded, “We've been at this all day!”

“He's right, princess,” Shiro nodded before he slowly stood up, helping Keith up, “Maybe we should get some food.”

The Altean glares at them before giving in. They walk off to the kitchen and sit down jadedly, plopping into the seats. Shiro smothers the groan he wants to release as he stretches his muscles out. The pain and soreness was nothing he wasn't used to. The others have no problem voicing their bodies’ aches and hurts.

Just as the food arrives to the table, Shiro reaches a hand to get some of the green goo. Something snaps to his wrists though as Shiro stares down. It's cuffs, and he has to take a few breaths to not freak out, remembering the cuffs he'd been in back with the Galra. 

His lion purrs, letting him know he's safe. Both he and Keith are fine and safe. 

And then Keith manages to toss his plate of food goo at Allura as he gives Pidge a look. Coran takes the hit and a food fight begins.

It's the most fun Shiro's had in years.

By the time they are done, they are covered in the sticky food but ready to form Voltron. They re-enter their lions and fly off, actually forming it triumphantly this time. Shiro cheers as they do it, feeling their minds shifting to one as the giant weapon forms. They take it out for a test drive, lasting ten minutes before they exhaustedly fly them back into the hangars.

“That was awesome!” Shiro hears Hunk scream as he nears the main hangar.

“What the heck!” Lance goes on as Shiro sees him rush up to the Yellow Paladin and clap his hand.

“Why weren't we doing this before!” Pidge shouted as Shiro finally joins them, “That was cool!”

Keith quickly signs something that makes Shiro laugh.

“Yes,” Shiro places his hand on the other's shoulder, “It is pretty amazing that the lions can transform into that.”

“But how?” Pidge inquiried, eyes bright as two twin suns, “And why-”

“Alright,” the older gently interrupts, knowing exactly how Pidge must be, “Let's get to our rooms and get some sleep. We've had a long day. You all did well.”

“Ah yes!” Coran arrived behind them as he twirled his moustache, “The rooms are right this way! Very comfy. I already put the needed sheets and stuff in each. Each is actually based on your lion color-which you coincidently wear anyway!”

“Hey,” Shiro hears Lance whisper to Hunk and Pidge, “Think the princess chose our lions because of what we wore? I mean, you guys look good, I love my outfit, Shiro's rocking the look, but Keith…”

Keith rolls his eyes as they stroll up some stairs. Shiro just smirks as he follows along. True to their word, they only go a few halls down to reach their rooms. 

“Number Five,” Coran calls to the Green Paladin who wanders over, “Here is your room.”

Shiro gets a glimpse of a high-tech screen and wide, excited eyes and knows Pidge is in love with his room. The orange-haired man tells Hunk and Lance their own rooms, which Shiro get see really are colored like their lions.

“Number Four and One!” The man grins as he guides them to their new room. The door opens as they take in the sight.

It's double the size of the last one they had, bed easily able to fit the two of them. The room is a wild mix of black and red, blending in a way that relaxes Shiro. It didn't remind him of the Galra cells or the Garrison interrogation tent. He glances at his best friend to see him staring at something in awe, eyes sparkling. Gazing at the same place, his own jaw dropped.

It was a window.

The whole ceiling was glass, nearly see through as the night stars peeked out. Arus was now entering night as the twinkling stars pop up every-so-often. Even though the constellations were none that Shiro knew, he found comfort in them. This is why he'd come to space. He had wanted to see more of this.

“I'll leave you two be,” Coran excused himself as they stayed where they were, “See you in the morning.”

Shiro barely heard the other man as he peeled his eyes from the stars. This room had a bathroom in the back, and he inspected it. The shower looked even better than he thought it would. It was big with both a giant tub and amazing shower. A mirror and sink sat off to the corner and two towels - one black and one red - rested on a shelf by the shower, conditioner and shampoo there too. Shiro peeked out of the doorway to see Keith removing his chest plate with a concentrating stare. 

“Shower and then watch the stars?”

Keith agreed with a smirk, face relaxing as he got the armor piece off.

So that's what they did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (If Shiro had opened his eyes during the mind meld, he'd have seen himself in the same desert scene on Keith's screen as he'd had of Keith on his ;^))


	6. Meeting Aliens and Fighting Old Enemies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge designs a new device to help give Keith a voice, but it backfires badly. At the same time, the paladins meet the Arusians. Shiro remembers some memories of a certain opponent he once faced.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if there are errors. I just wanted to get this chapter out today.
> 
> Enjoy!

They train for the next few days. Shiro notices that they are getting stronger and faster at forming Voltron. Each component within the lions slides in better and more effectively than before. As much as it didn’t seem to have an impact, all the training they were doing makes them better. While they haven’t improved on the gladiator much, they are at level three as a group, and their own individual levels vary but are higher than before. They are also more used to connecting their minds. Even Pidge is having an easier time at the mind meld now.

Shiro chuckles as he watches the Green Paladin run off with a stunned Keith, who seems shocked that the younger is even wanting to interact with him. It happens whenever there is a free moment, so Shiro knows something is up. He even asks Keith one night while they were in their room, stargazing. Keith just gave him a shrug, having absolutely no idea what was going on either.

In that time, Hunk had been experimenting with the food, which is why Shiro was where he was right now. In the kitchen, dressed in full armor excluding his helmet, about to eat something...hopefully something edible, no offense to Coran. 

The elder Altean was amazing with the castle and helping them out. But he was in no way a chef.

“Oh yeah,” Hunk sets down four dishes, one on front of each of them, “I experimented with the food that I could find. These tubers work well for this dish. The sauce was tricky but I think I pulled it off. Or at least got it to enhance the flavor? I don't know. Maybe.”

“I don't know what tubers are,” Lance exclaimed when the dish was revealed, “But this looks delicious!”

Shiro had to agree with the brown-haired teen. The dish looked a lot like Earth spaghetti and meatballs except that there were more plant like things than noodles. Cautiously taking up a forkful, Shiro took a bite.

It wasn't the best food he'd ever had. It was too sweet to feel like an actual meal and not a dessert. But it was honestly the best food he'd had in a long time, excluding the restaurant back at Earth. Keith seemed at agree as he dug into the meal, eating more enthusiastically. Lance also started devouring his faster and Shiro was pretty sure part of the reason he did was because Keith was. Lance had a competitive bone he was picking with the half-Galra. Shiro didn't know why.

Pidge also was eating the food up. He seemed pretty ecstatic about the meal, and Shiro smiled. His team was having a good time, it seemed. Time to join in.

“This is so good,” Pidge groaned as he stuffed his face and swallowed, “How the heck do you make this stuff from nothing?”

“It was nothing,” Hunk shrugged as a tiny blush lit up his face, “Just messed around with it in the kitchen for a while.”

“It is really good, Hunk,” Shiro reassured him with a grin, “Thank you.”

“Yeah! Thanks, you big gassy genius! This is the best.”

“Way better than food at the Garrison.”

“I KNOW, RIGHT!” Lance shouted as he nodded his head at the youngest, “The Garrison food was bleh.”

“Even Shiro would agree,” Pidge smirked at him, “Wouldn't you?”

“It wasn't that bad,” Shiro paused as they all stared at him with semi-flat stares except Keith, who looked a little lost. Oh, right. He never went to the Garrison and had the food, “The mac-n-cheese was good.”

Honestly, that was about the only food he could actually remember well from the Garrison. He wasn't sure if it was because of his patchy memories or the fact that he hadn't cared so much for the other food. The three youngest weren't exactly lying when they said the food was…‘bleh’

At this, Keith tilted his head. Shiro himself was a bit confused until…

“What?” Lance asked as the others turned towards the tensing half-Galra who stared back warily, “You've never had mac-n-cheese?”

Keith just shrugged, eyes narrowing some as he shifted a bit in his seat. 

“Oh, no!” Hunk shouted as a gleam came to his eyes, “This won't be happening around here. I'll make some for Keith to test out.”

Keith's eyes widened for a moment before he sent the teen a closed smile. Shiro watched as he signed out a thank you to the bigger man. 

“No problem, man,” Hunk laughed as Keith's eyes shot up again in shock, “I don't know sign language. But I do know a thankful face when I see one.”

Keith was frozen for a moment before he blinked and actually smiled this time. Shiro felt himself grin as he the younger relaxed slightly. 

“Speaking of problems,” Pidge cleared his throat after a second, “I got my project done.”

“The one you kept dragging mullet away for?” Lance laughed as Keith sent him a grumpy glare at the nickname...or maybe even the whole getting-dragged-away part.

“Yep!” The youngest grinned excitedly as he dug something out of a small bag. Out popped a small watch looking thing, just big enough for someone's wrist. It looked a lot like their wrist guards, but slimmer. It was black and decorated with streaks of scarlet metal on all edges. It actually looked much like a comfy bracelet.

“Here, Keith!” Pidge exclaimed to Keith who blinked at the device, “It's for you. I thought it could help when you need to talk to us. Shiro won't have to translate for you all the time.”

“Not that I mind doing so,” Shiro pointed out as he gazed into scrunched eyes, “But it'll give you more freedom. I'm not going to always be around you.”

He doesn't add the rest of his thoughts. But Keith seems to pick up on it as he frowns at him, eyes blazing at the unsaid message.

**He's not always going to be there by Keith's side. Some day, he may not be there at all.**

Keith quickly signs something that only Shiro catches before looking back at Pidge after a moment. Shiro goes along with it, turning his attention back to the Green Paladin. He'll talk to Keith later.

“Tap on it right here,” Pidge leaned over and pressed the surface a few times, “And…here you go.”

A clearish red screen popped up, with a short message in English.

_Hey, guys!_

Shiro was surprised. It looked like it was working well, and he had no idea where Pidge had found the time to make it in just four or so days. Apparently, the others felt the same way because they were looking at it in silent awe. Even Keith was but it slowly became confusion. That soon turned into sadness.

Shiro quietly moved to the younger's side, placing a hand on Keith's shoulder pad. Said man looked at him before his expression softened. He reluctantly tapped a few times on the screen, slowly like he was unsure exactly what was what.

_Can you translate to other_

Keith cut off as his brows moved down. Shiro worried for a moment that he was going into another trance, but he was reassured when Keith blinked. The younger looked over at him, signing something as Shiro watched his hands move. The others shuffled around a little, watching him too.

“Oh,” Shiro nearly facepalmed at Keith’s explanation. Druids...right...hm, “I should have known.”

“What?” Hunk asked nervously, brown eyes worried, “What’s he saying?”

“English is not Keith’s strong suit…” Shiro answered back only for them to raise a brow, “He knows it and can speak it. Just writing or typing with it is...difficult.”

“What can we do to help?” Pidge inquired curiously.

“Make the input keyboard in another language?” Shiro shrugged as Keith nodded, “The screen can still translate to English if we need it to.”

“Ohhh,” Pidge smirked as he took ahold of the bracelet, silently asking for it back quickly. After a moment, Keith relented, “Smart idea. If we ever need to contact each other, we can do it without others being able to read in on our messages.”

“Or if we run across aliens who don’t understand us,” Lance spoke and they all glanced at him, “What? I’m not dumb. Even I know that not everyone is going to get what we are saying.”

“Wow,” Hunk smiled as he elbowed Lance who crossed his arms, “That’s actually a very good point.”

“Thank you,” the teen nodded his head, “I can think of great ideas.”

“We know,” Pidge teased as his glasses flashed, “You had a lot of ideas back at the Garrison.”

Shiro interrupted before they could start remenancing all their adventures from the space academy.

“Is there anyway to put it into,” Shiro paused as he glanced at Keith who was still staring at the bracelet in the Green Paladin’s hand, “other languages...like Galran?”

“Why would you need it in Galran?” Shiro quickly turned as the princess’ voice ripped through the air. By the doorway stood both Alteans, sending them small frowns. Neither sounded angry, but both wanted to know what was going on.

“How long have you standing there?” Lance screeched as he jumped before he settled down with a smirk, “Came to watch the tailor, didn’t you?”

“What’s a ‘tailor?’” Allura asked with a confused expression.

“Nothing you want to know about,” Pidge answered back.

Shiro wasn’t really sure what that was about, but it seemed like an inside thing between the three youngest. Lance attempted to clarify what he meant and Pidge laughed as he interrupted and Hunk joined in. The Alteans also spoke up, Coran easily being the loudest of the bunch.

A screen popped up in front of Shiro as the others went silent.

_It’s the one I know the best. It’s the easiest to use quickly._

Keith glanced to each of them, gaze lingering over Shiro for a moment. The older could practically tell the other wanted him to give the others an excuse. Keith was not a good liar. He was fine if he stayed silent (not that he had much choice) but if he wrote anything…

Think….Think….Galra cells….three years….

“Keith learned Galra from the cells,” Shiro broke through the noise as the others stared at him, “He was there longer than I was. He picked up a lot.”

Two years longer. Shiro couldn’t believe Keith had survived this long. And technically, it was not a lie. Keith had told him he’d learned Galran from the Galra. Shiro now knew that meant he’d learned from his rebel group.

“Makes sense,” Hunk agreed with a half-shrug as he placed a plate off to the side, “It can happen.”

“Let me see that,” Pidge gently grabbed the watch up before fiddling with it, “If I just put this here...and do this here...A little bit of...there!”

He handed it back to Keith who tilted his head. The half-Galra grinned when he looked down at the device. Shiro himself couldn’t make out any of the features on the screen, but Keith could because he started typing quickly.

_Thank you. This works great._

“I also put in a voice software that can read what you type,” Pidge beamed as they all stared with mouths agape, “It wasn’t hard to make. Just press this off to the side. Test it out.”

Keith pressed the button. Shiro immediately regretted that as a terrible sounding voice filled the air. It sounded kind of like a dying raven mixed with nails on a chalkboard. Or maybe it sounded like metal scraping into metal? Either way, it was so disturbing that Shiro almost fell over. He gripped his ears at the noise, looking up at the others in time to see them doing the same. No one looked to be in any pain, more startled than hurt.

Keith, however, had fallen to the floor. In his haste, he had dropped the bracelet onto the floor as he curled up on the cold metal of the castle. From his spot, Shiro could see the smaller wriggling in agony. The small tell of pointed ears peeked through clenching fingers as the hybrid shook. Shiro could see blots of purple rushing up to Keith’s skin on his chin.

Shiro quickly threw his hands off his ears. The sounds bothered him even more, but he dove onto the floor, smashing the watch onto the ground.

It died down.

Ringing filled Shiro’s ears as he heaved some breaths out of his chest. Glancing to the side, he was glad to see that Keith looked better. The Red Paladin was now sitting up with his head still cradled in his arms, sour look on his face. One that Shiro knew meant he was still hurt a little, head throbbing some. 

“What the crow was that!” Lance screamed as he waved his hands around wildly, eyes wide. Shiro winced at the volume of it, “Pidge, I thought it was supposed to read it off like a normal person. Why did it sound like that?”

“I don’t know,” the youngest rubbed his face as they picked themselves up, “It read it just fine when I tested it less than an hour ago. It didn’t sound anything like that.”

“Uh…” Hunk raised his finger, “In case you didn’t notice, our eardrums almost burst. I think you would have known about this somehow.”

“I just told you,” Pidge glared as she tinkered with the device for a moment before groaning, “I didn’t know it would happen. Give me a break!”

Shiro was about to step into his leadership role and get them to stop when the older Altean beat him to it.

“Number Four,” Coran pulled them out of their discussion as Shiro turned to the other, “Are you okay?”

Keith was still holding his ears. Shiro could see that he had accommodated the shape of how he was cupping them to his Galra ears. He looked a bit dazed, eyes a little too foggy to be normal. He also seemed tired, having trouble finding the energy to bring both arms up. He simply let them hang loosely by his sides. If Shiro looked closely enough, he could pick out the golden shine starting to flicker out slowly in those eyes.

“Keith!” Pidge moved forward but stopped as Keith pressed harder against his ears. The green-clad paladin lowered his voice, “Oh, I did not mean for this to happen.”

“What did happen?” Lance questioned as everyone looked at Keith who just shrugged, still holding his ears, “Come on, man. Say...do something.”

“You’re worrying us,” Hunk frowned, looking close to tears, “It shouldn’t have bothered you like this.”

Keith only looked more uncomfortable as he shuffled back a step. Shiro shook his head as he stepped forward to stop the others from overcrowding Keith and making the situation worse than it already was. Placing an arm on the other’s shoulder after making sure the other was aware he was doing it, Shiro smiled reassuringly.

“You okay?” He asked after a moment. Keith stared at him for a second before shaking his head, taking a deep breath in. Shiro grinned softly as he saw Keith mouth the phrase he thought the other had forgotten, “That really stayed with you, didn’t it?”

Keith gave him a soft look. Shiro wasn’t sure what to make of it as he pulled the other into a loose hug. After a few moments, Keith wrapped his arms around him, rubbing his face to Shiro’s neck. Shiro squeezed a bit tighter before staying there. This was a comfort thing for both of them, so that they both knew they were alive and well still.

“Better now?” Shiro asked as he pulled back from the other. Keith smiled as he nodded. A silent yawn bubbled out of his mouth as he settled his head on Shiro’s chestplate, too exhausted to do much else.

“What happened?” Allura questioned as Shiro looked at her, “Are you okay, Keith?”

“We can fix it so it doesn’t do that again,” Pidge reassured as Shiro saw Keith peek at her with one eye, “I will fix it. It will take a little to do that though.”

Shiro watched as Keith took the bracelet back into his hands. Letting out another breath as he inspected it, he typed out another message.

_It’s fine. My ears are just really sensitive at times._

Shiro saw that the younger four seemed to buy it without any needed additional explanation. Coran though looked at them both with the first examining look Shiro had seen from the older man. The orange-haired man seemed able to know exactly why Keith was having issues with the watch.

Before anyone could say anything, a different alarm went off. They all jumped, thinking momentarily that it was the watch going off again. Luckily, Keith didn’t drop it this time nor was it actually the watch. The lights blinked scarlet as the princess shouted to her advisor.

“What is going on, Coran!”

A screen on the opposite wall appeared. It seemed to be some type of camera, and as it focused to show them what was out there, it began to follow a little brown shape. The alien looked pretty tiny with lighter horns, green pants and shoulder cloth on. It was yielding a short sword of some kind as it rushed to the castle with a battle cry.

“Oh, it seems there is an Arusian coming to visit,” Coran answered back as if the alien wasn’t armed in anyway, “We should go welcome him in.”

“Yeah! Awww...”

“Okay.”

“He doesn’t look that dangerous. Let’s go!”

“I suppose that is the best option.” Allura agreed as they started for the door, “Alteans believe in peace first. Let’s talk to the Arusian.”

Keith and he shared glances. Did no one around here have any sense of caution when it came to letting others into the castle? Shiro shrugged as he pointed his head after them. Keith just grumbled, giving him a flat look before gripping his bayard in his hand.

They both rushed off after the others as they ran for the doors. They just arrived when the alien did a flip and brandished his weapon at them. Shiro settled right behind Keith as he rushed forward, holding his bayard in his hand protectively. 

“No one takes Klaizap’s weapon!”

“Keith!” Allura scolded him as he sent her an annoyed glare, “Put that away!”

Keith lowered his bayard, but didn’t put it away. Shiro himself was ready to light his hand up, but he was intrigued by this. He had wanted to meet aliens on other planets, after all. Hopefully, this one was peaceful.

They go into a whole conversation about Klaizap being the best warrior and how there is a whole group of Arusians just around the nearest hill. There’s something about a lion goddess and the Arusians thinking that she was angry with them. Shiro quickly realizes that the fire and giant “dancing in the sky” are Voltron and that one battle against Sendak. And then they are invited to go to the village.

Shiro doesn’t know if they should leave the castle wide open, but he follows them as they follow the alien. Twenty minutes later, a small village comes into view. It was a wonder that the Arusians hadn’t investigated sooner, or that they hadn’t seen the village sooner.

When they arrive, the biggest Arusian greets them with open arms, demanding to be forgiven. Another Arusian starts dancing...it gets crazy from there. A massive fire is lit when Allura tries to stop them, they say they must throw themselves in said fire, Allura apologizes.

Shiro glances at Keith in the meantime. The other stares ahead before glancing at him and signing something.

“I have no idea,” Shiro shrugs as the question echoed his own. What had the Arusians done that they figured was bad enough the Lion Goddess would shine her wrath upon them?

“Voltron will protect all those who are innocent throughout the universe.”

Then they began mingling with the Arusians who greeted them with joy and excitement. Shiro could see Hunk having a good time. Coran is holding one alien up in the air and bouncing it up in the air. Allura and Lance both grin under the attention the small aliens give them. Even Pidge seems to be interacting, possibly comparing heights with the shorter aliens.

Shiro nearly laughs as an Arusian launches at Keith, hugging him tightly. The half-Galra freezes before he pats the smaller on the head. Keith signs behind the brown alien’s back that he is oddly adorable and Shiro does laugh. That is so Keith but he never pictured that said like this. Shiro looked away as his cheeks flared with heat.

Shiro is pulled from his thoughts as a whole group surround him. Blinking, he almost topples when they crowd his legs, each finding a place to hold. Shiro sends Keith a stare as the other snickers at him, before he sees the humor in the situation too. Kneeling, he talks to the group. Before long, he’s answered that Voltron is the angel from the sky, they were part of Voltron, Voltron was protecting them, Voltron was made from lions, made from robot lions, and so many other questions that he couldn’t remember them all. In a way, Shiro had missed this. The kids back when he’d recruit would ask questions in the same way. They’d all be in complete awe at the fact that a legendary officer was in their classroom.

Shiro thought it was kind of neat. Exhausting, but nice.

A hand on his shoulder brought him back to reality. Looking up, he saw startled violet eyes staring up at the sky. About to ask what was wrong, Shiro’s gaze drifted to where Keith was looking. Squinting, he could just make out the string of blazing fire streaking the sky.

“Oh, no,” Shiro whispered before he jumped up, making sure to not injur any Arusian, “PALADINS, GET TO YOUR LIONS! CORAN, PRINCESS-”

“We’ve got it,” Coran spoke up at he continued to hold the same Arusian from earlier, who was now scared and clinging to his neck, “Go face it.”

“Everyone get into shelter!” Allura shouted as she started leading the scrambling aliens to undercave spots. Shiro almost couldn’t breathe in the chaos as the group by his side rushed away. Shiro caught Keith dragging Hunk by his collar off in the corner of his eye, obviously peeved that the bigger was running the wrong way. They all rushed back towards the castle. Whatever was falling was approaching too quickly. It would crash before they could get back to the hangars.

Shiro was proven correct when moments later, the object slammed into the dirt, creating a boom big enough to trip them. Dust and large boulders ripped through the air, rushing at them at impossible speeds. Shiro prepared for the worst, closing his eyes. Something crashed into him, burying him underneath as some roars filled the air.

Shiro peeled his eyes open when nothing hit him. Glancing to whatever was on him, he was greeted with dark eyes blinking back at him. Keith let out a sigh of relief, resting his head just above Shiro’s ear. The Black Paladin glanced to the side only to stare at the lions. All five were in front of them, having blocked the shock wave.

“I didn’t know they could do that,” Pidge responded as they all got up.

“Neither did I,” Shiro shrugged as he helped Keith to his feet, “Let’s get into our lions. Whatever landed here probably isn’t good.”

And then he rushed to his lion. The black jaw lowered itself to the ground as he ran up the ramp. Plopping into his seat, he took control of the handles just as the outer shell of the thing fell over. Dust clouded the air, clogging their sight of the thing.

“Anyone see what it is?” Lance asked as the Blue Lion floated up.

 _‘No.’_ Keith answered back with a somewhat grumpy and frustrated tone, even in the lion’s voice.

“Be prepared!” Shiro yelled as they wait. All too soon, a large machine steps out. It looks almost like a Galra battlecruiser came to life, metal dark purple. The arms powers up, spinning around rapidly. Something about this doesn’t feel right. Shiro feels like he’s seen this before, somewhere in the lost memories of his mind.

A ball of electricity sparks into existence, looking like a crystal ball from the movies. But seconds later, it’s proven way more fatal as it launches at them. The five of them barely dodge in time as it whizzes by their heads.

“FORM VOLTRON!” Shiro screams as the lions take over. Just like in training, the lions fall together into formation to create the super weapon. In seconds they’ve formed Voltron, coming out of it to land a punch to the other machine’s face. The thing flies back with the weight of the punch. Three more punches in, and they suddenly get bashed from the back. Slamming into a hillside, they come to stop and barely avoid the main machine’s blow to their face.

Whipping around, the right knee of Voltron knees the machine. The green arm punches into the beast’s face and shots its beam. Seconds after, the red arm joins, punching the same spot. 

_‘Behind us, guys!’_

Keith’s shout gives them just enough time to thrust themselves out of the way only for the other machine to slam into their chest again. As they fall, they skid across the ground and into sight of the village.

“We have to lead it away from the village,” Shiro shouts as the ground shakes from the beast’s footsteps.

“Oh, man,” Hunk groans as they finally stand up, “Attack it head on and it uses the ball thing. Attack the ball and it gets the drop on us. What are we gonna do?”

“I don’t know,” Shiro frowned, listening to the five lions rumble, “But we need to figure it out fast.”

Just then, they got flung once again, jarring Shiro as he almost smacks his head on his seat. Groaning, he rubs his head, regretting not grabbing the helmets on the way out. Pain spiked through his head as he glances up at the beast. It’s ready to send the ball at them.

**He’s suddenly flung to a hard sand floor. Letting out heaving breaths, he quickly ducks behind a pillar as a bright ball zips past him. How was he going to beat the reigning Champion? He was barely getting out of each strike alive. He couldn’t even attack the guy because he was so far away.**

The ball rushed by again as Shiro’s jerked back to the fight.

 _‘SHIRO!’_ Keith’s voice shouts with plenty of fear dripping from it, almost sounding like a growl, _‘SHIRO! WHAT’S HAPPENING! SHIRO!’_

“I’m okay,” he groaned as they once again get pummeled, “I just remembered something. This guy’s one of the opponents I faced in the Arena.”

Myzax.

 _‘How…’_ Keith whispers. Shiro knows he knew who it is. And Shiro had killed him, defeated him in the Arena. But he was ali-

“Aim for it when the ball is charging,” he shouted instead as the shield he doesn’t quite remember takes the brunt of the attack, “It can only fire three times before it needs more energy.”

“Well, that was one,” Lance screams as they fly out of the way, only to receive a kick to the side, “Arhhhh!”

“Two,” someone else counts off as they scramble back.

“Three,” Shiro hears more than one paladin say as the ball returns to the weapon charger, “Let’s take it out!”

With a raging scream, both Pidge and Keith’s lions shot out, firing lasers at the same time. The blue light strikes the machine, leaving it to crash into a barren hill. The arms continue their onslaught until they can’t any longer. Settling down a bit, they stand over their downed enemy.

_‘Something doesn’t feel right.’_

Shiro agrees. This fight was too easy. But maybe Voltron was just strong enough t-

“AWWW, MAN!” Hunk shouts loudly as the beast gets up, “IT’S STILL ALIVE!!! WHAT DO WE HAVE TO DO TO DEFEAT IT?”

“Pidge!” Shiro commands as the ball targets them, “Shield, Pidge!”

The shield forms just in time to take the attack. However, too much force slams into them and it splits into two pieces, flying off in opposite directions. A punch sends them to the ground again as Shiro’s head flares with pain. 

**He was back onto the floor of the Arena. He couldn’t fight the strange ball and Myzax at the same time. He sure couldn’t fight them without a weapon. Gritting his teeth as he took another hit, he clenched his fist only to remember that he did have a weapon in his hand.**

Shiro gasped as he pressed his hands over his head. He knew what they had to do.

“I had a sword last time,” he quickly explained as the machine charged at them, “WE NEED A SWORD!”

A low growl from the right arm rumbled around them for a moment.

_‘Red’s telling me what to do.’_

“DO IT!” They all screamed as they were flung again. Shiro was jolted against his seat, energy nearly spent at all the bruising force put on them. The beast leapt into the air, about to bring down its arm right on them was something sparked. The Red Lion thrust its jaw out, forming a long blade. With one quick fierce slash, the machine halted a distance away from them. A few sparks lit up the air before it fell. Barely getting any sign of warning, they covered their eyes as the machine exploded, filling the air with even more dust and debris.

“Woah,” Lance groaned as they all fell out of formation, too tired to hold it any longer, “That was wicked. How’d you do that, Samurai?”

 _‘I don’t know.’_ Keith muttered before he spoke to what Shiro assumed was his lion, _‘Thanks, kitty.’_

“Let’s make sure the Arusians and Coran and Allura are okay,” Shiro stated just as the lions landed, “And then we can collapse and sleep.”

“You said it!”

“I could sleep now.”

“I’m exhausted.”

_‘Sounds good, Shiro.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That bracelet voice thing will come in handy very soon. Can you guess????


	7. Party of Flames

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith has a good time at the Arusian party, but the day goes down in flames. Pidge wants to leave, the castle is attacked, and Keith and Allura are locked out with no way in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I love Keith and Hunk friendship so here you go. And I've been wanting to sneak in a dance between Shiro and Keith for forever. Also, I'm sorry, but Keith had to get into space somehow...

Keith sighed as he glanced over the party. 

The battle with what was supposed to be Myzax had ended well. They had been extremely tired and sore by the time they had gotten back to the village, but everyone was fine. As a reward, the princess and king of the Arusians made the pact to have a party throughout the groups. The castle would host it and provide...almost everything. Didn’t seem fair to Keith, but Allura waved him off when Shiro had translated for him. Something about bettering relationships and allies?

Keith had never been a party person. He wasn’t. Parties were loud and obnoxious. As he glanced over to the side, an Arusian knocked over a floating tray which crashed to the ground. Messy. Parties were also messy.

“Hey, man!” Keith nearly jumped, nerves on end, as he turned to the Yellow Paladin, “Having fun?”

Keith gave him the flattest look he could ever put on his face. The bigger teen laughed softly before he pointed to a thing of food on a stick, picking two up from a passing plate, “You should try some of this. It’s good. Kind of like a...uh...strawberry...mango? With extra sugar? Maybe. I mean, it has the sweetness.”

Keith glanced at it. The snack looked like a giant pink marshmallow, but rock hard instead of squishy. Sniffing at it, he didn’t think it smelt that bad. Taking a curious bite of it, he cringed as his teeth were jared from the steel-tough stuff.

“Yeah, it’s not a good idea to eat it like th-” Hunk started as Keith’s teeth swapped for his sharp ones, hidden from sight as he took a bite out much easier than before. Keith paused, head tilted as Hunk raised a finger, mouth agape, “Uh...nevermind. You know what? Maybe they have some other snacks. Wanna try something else? Something preferably…”

The younger glanced at him as he took another bite, completely innocent yet unfazed. Keith snickered silently. Kolivan would be proud at that.

“Edible.”

Keith finished his snack, glancing at the one Hunk had in his hand. The man glanced at it before holding it out. Keith took it a moment later, munching on it as he shrugged. Sticking the treat into his mouth to free up his hands, he typed on his watch still on his wrist. Pidge hadn’t had the chance to fix the voice reader yet, but it was otherwise perfectly functional...something about not accounting for the voice trying to read both the English and Galran form at the same time. It was about the only way to communicate with the others.

_Sorry, big guy. I gotta find Shiro._

“No problem,” Hunk grinned as he sent Keith a look he didn’t quite understand the meaning of, “Make sure he’s not too worked up, okay? All this leadership stuff...Well, I’m happy to be in Yellow.”

_I will. Thanks. See you later._

“See ya!”

Keith strolled across the room on his way to find his best friend. He noted Lance in the throb of the group, talking with Hunk, who joined him, about something, smug smirk on his face. Keith rolled his eyes, betting he was talking about flirting or something, yet he still grinned at that. Classic Lance.

Pidge was walking across the room, a grumpy look on his face. Every once in awhile, he’d sneak a plate of treats into his bag, zipping it up and moving on. Keith raised a brow, but didn’t think too much on it. People were weird.

Up on the stairs, he could see Allura standing. She was leaning on her elbow with her head resting on her palm, looking about and chatting excitedly with the mice. Keith was glad she could have a moment to relax. He also noticed that the Altean had noticed the Green Paladin acting strange. Even in his human form, his ears could momentarily hear her exclaim something about Pidge being something. Keith shrugged it off as he continued on his way.

“What is this, Coran?” Lance glared at the older Altean as Keith moved closer to the two, “It tastes like hot dog water and feet!”

“Oh, that would be nunvil!” The man stated happily before flinging some onto his moustache, which promptly fluffed up not unlike some Galra furs did, “It also is a very good hair tonic.”

Keith laughed as the younger went green and spat out whatever was left of the drink before placing it off to the side. Shaking his head, his gaze roamed over the room, taking in all the sights. No Shiro. Where-

Door. Of course.

Keith walked out of the group, feeling a bit less nervous as the Arusians became more scarce. His time in the group cells had made him wary around other people, no matter the type. He was somewhat okay around just the small group he had to work with, Shiro making it easier, but when it came to so many others...He was very happy to say that he wasn’t panicking. Yet.

He also didn’t like that the castle was so...open to anyone. It was like leaving your room open and expecting no one to come in and destroy the place. He felt that this was going to come back to bite them in the ass later.

Sure enough, after a minute of walking, he could see the outline of the taller man. The man was leaning against the large doors near the entrance of the long hallway. For a moment, Keith allowed himself to stare as he got closer. The moonlight cast shadows across the other, the light shining down on him in other spots. The white of his floof seemed to glow with the moon's beams. Keith could almost imagine unbroken skin and pure black hair from where he stood. Shiro would look younger that way. No less handsome, but maybe less...tested? Less wounded?

“Oh, Keith,” Keith cut off his thoughts as Shiro turned to him, smiling fondly. Keith grinned right back, going to stand beside him, “Busy in there?”

‘Unfortunately, too busy,’ he stared off to the side with a few memories of being crowded by the cute but destructive aliens before glancing over at Shiro, who was staring at him, ‘What?’

“Oh, nothing,” Shiro shook his head but continued to watch him, “So anything you wanted me for?”

‘Dance?’ Keith tilted his head, remembering how the older said he missed the small things in life, including dancing, ‘Just for a bit. If anything happens, we'll know it.’

“Okay,” the older nodded as he chuckled softly, already leading the way outside, “What do we want to dance? We don't have music.”

‘Whatever you want to. You're the one who knows how to dance,’ Keith smiled as Shiro raised a brow, both stopping where they stood, ‘And we don't need to have music.’

Keith watched as Shiro grinned. The older took his hands, placing both on his shoulders. Keith gripped his hands to each other behind Shiro's neck. Shiro placed his own hands on Keith's lower back, and the younger suddenly understood why dancing might be so good. Warmth settled over the spot even through the undersuit. 

Shiro gently swayed to the side, and Keith followed him just a millisecond after. Shiro slid the opposite direction, and Keith did the same. Back and forth, they moved to an invisible beat. Keith could feel himself relax, taut muscles loosening up as he got into the rhythm. Keith could also feel Shiro calming down as they continued to sway. He smiled as he rested his head against the other's chest, ears shifting to better hear Shiro's thumping heartbeats. 

Taking the lead, Keith moved them to the rhythm of the heartbeats. Shiro followed easily, chuckling under his breath as he held on to Keith tighter. The half-Galra nuzzled his cheek against the other even over the chest plate. Letting out a silent content sigh, Keith actually jumped when he heard someone walked up to them. Shiro must have noticed too because he tensed before relaxing again.

“Hey, Pidge,” Keith quickly returned his ears back to normal before turning to the Green Paladin who fidgeted nervously behind them, “What can I do for you?”

“I need to talk to you,” Pidge stated before moving his glasses up his nose, setting them back on his nose in nervous habit, “But if I'm interrupting something…”

 _It's fine,_ Keith typed as he walked forward a bit, _We were almost done._

Everyone knew it was a lie, and clearly the younger didn't believe him.

 _I'm going to hang out with Hunk,_ Keith turned back to Shiro, smile on his face and feeling a bit worried, _Take care of yourself, Shiro. No overworking it._

“Keith, I won't,” the older smiled happily as Keith nodded, “I'll meet back up with you inside.”

Keith strolled past Pidge as the blonde stood next to Shiro, beginning a conversation Keith didn't bother listening to. Keith moved on, entering the entrance of the castle before he glanced about. The princess, Coran, and Lance were nowhere to be seen as he walked into the large mass. Hunk greeted him with a wave.

“You were gone awhile,” he smirked before grabbing a couple marshmallow snacks, “Have fun with Shiro?”

 _Actually, yeah,_ Keith grinned quietly as he gazed around, _What do you have those for? And where is everyone?_

“I got these for you,” Keith blinked as the teen laid them into his hands, “I know you like them. Also, I'm not sure where everyone else is. Coran and Lance went up into the castle. Allura...went outside.”

 _What? I just came from that direction,_ Keith ate one of the treats down, trying to free up his hands, _How do you know? I didn't see her._

“Because she and Pidge and Shiro are walking over this way and they do not look happy.”

Keith glanced back at them and yep, they were marching inside. Pidge looked sour like he was ready to argue the night away. Shiro looked lost and uncomfortable, like he had absolutely no idea what was going on. Allura looked pretty pissed as she clenched her fists. All three were waving their arms about, lips moving.

Hunk and he shared glances before rushing forward.

“Pidge…” Allura began as they got close enough to properly hear them.

“No!” Pidge scowled angrily, “I'm going to find my family. You can't stop me.”

“Woah, woah, woah!” Hunk interrupted, waving his hands and catching their attention, “What is going on?”

“Pidge is leaving,” Allura spat out as Keith glanced at the Green Paladin who held the strap of his bag tighter.

“I'm going to find my dad and brother,” he glared at them, “They were the ones on the Kerberos mission with Shiro. I have to find them.”

“Wait,” Shiro frowned as he took a step forward, about to reach out to Pidge, “You're related to Sam and Matt?”

“Yeah,” he stared at the man as if waiting for something before he turned away, “I'm taking a pod and going to find them.”

“Don't you think this is a little sudden?” Allura demanded, hands on her hips in frustration, “You could have at least told us.”

“I am now,” Pidge explained as he shoved his backpack onto his shoulders further, “I'm leaving.”

“Wait, if Pidge leaves,” Hunk glanced at them before wringing his hands, “Does that mean we can leave? Go back to our families? I wanna see my family again. Do you guys want to see them again? Lance probably would-”

“No,” the Altean exclaimed with a frown as she glared at Hunk, “You’re leaving too?”

“But-”

“Team-”

“I'm doing it!”

“You-”

Keith couldn't think straight anymore. Everyone's voices blended together as Keith felt his anger grow. His fear spiked as they continued.

Didn't Pidge know that leaving meant the Green Lion had no paladin? Didn't the younger know that it wasn't just his family at risk? That Earth could be targeted next if they didn't stop the Empire? That without Voltron, their families were all doomed? That the Alteans would be overrun and killed?

**“I have no clue whose lineage you bear,” a voice cackling at him as lightning lit up before his eyes, casting the witch's face aglow, teeth sharp and eyes glowing, “But I will find out. I do know you're half Galra but your other side is one I've never seen before. Intriguing.”**

**He glared at her, teeth gritted as he barely stopped himself from launching forward to attack her, despite the restraints.**

**“I will find out the other half,” she cackled again as the lightning grew, “And then we will find them. I need more test subjects. Perhaps they are more cooperative and stronger than you, hybrid.”**

Keith's family was doomed if the younger left. Keith would be captured again. _Shiro_ would be captured again. 

He was not letting that happen. Never again.

Keith snapped.

 _You think you're the only one with a family!_ He growled silently as he stalked right up to a scared Pidge, scarlet screen right in front of his face, _Everyone has a family. These Arusians have families. Leaving Voltron will only put everyone in danger._

“I'm going,” Pidge stated but backed up as Keith advanced. He didn't even notice his fingernails sharpening into claws or his teeth gaining their fangs.

 _You're puting thhe lives of two people overr the livess of everyone else!_ Keith grew frustrated enough to start typing incorrectly as he leaned closer, fear and panic making him more aggressive, _You're going to regre-_

“Keith! Stop!” A hand grabbed his watch, disabling the message part way through. Keith snapped out of his hazy emotion-filled rant to see Shiro staring him with a stern look. Keith bit his lip as he looked away. 

“I know how much this means to you, how much you have at stake in this war,” Keith glanced into caring, grey eyes, “But Keith, you can't make a team work that way. They have to be here on their own accord.”

He nodded weakly, looking down in shame. His teeth dulled, claws vanishing, leaving behind only sadness in his veins.

“If you want to go search for your family,” Shiro sighed as he turned back to Pidge, “We won't stop you. But I still think it would be a better idea to stay and find them through the supplies and sources here.”

“Thanks, Shiro,” Keith didn't look as the teen began walking away, “But I'm still going. I'll...I'll be in contact.”

He got less than ten feet away when the castle shook. Keith tensed, knowing that this was going to happen at some point. Shiro must have too because he didn't seem surprised, just prepared as they raced through the room and up the stairs. Since Keith was just a bit faster, he rushed into the room with smoke trailing out of it first. As the thick, black smoke dispensed, Keith took in the sight.

He saw Coran first. The older man was laying on the floor, on his stomach. He didn't look injured, and seconds later, he groaned.

“Coran!” Allura shouted as they raced to his side.

“Lance,” the Altean began as the princess helped him up, “He pushed me out of the way.”

“Oh, no,” Shiro exclaimed as Keith whipped his head towards his friend, “Lance!”

By this time, the smoke had cleared enough to see everything. Shiro crouched over an unconscious Blue Paladin who was laying on his back. Keith could see some shrapnel had ripped through the younger's armor, leaving him injured. Luckily, the wounds weren't bleeding, but that didn't reassure Keith that the teen wasn't bleeding internally. 

“The crystal!” Allura shouted as Keith tore his gaze from the hurt teammate to the blue crystal, or rather what was left of it, “It's gone!”

Before they had any time to adjust to what had happened, Keith could hear someone rushing up to their area. His bayard appeared in its original form, ready at any second to turn into a sword.

But he didn't need it. The King of the Arusians ran up to them, face frightened as he waved his arms.

“Lion Goddess!” Keith listened as the alien reverted back to his first saying to Allura, “The village! It has been attacked!”

“The crystal is the only thing that powers the castle,” Coran spoke up as he finally stood up on his own, “Without it, we won't be able to operate any of our systems, much less get the castle flying.”

“Can we get to our lions?” Shiro demanded as he supported the downed teen's head.

“No,” the younger Altean shook her head, “The hangars are locked and we won't be able to open it until the power is back on.”

“Which means we have to find a Balmerian crystal,” Coran stated as he twirled his moustache in thought, “But how do we get out of here to get on-”

“You can use my pod!” Pidge exclaimed as he moved forward, “I left the door open so you can get out.”

“Well then I can go grab a crystal to bring back!”

“Alright,” Shiro shook his head as he turned to them, “Hunk, go with Coran to help him find the crystal.”

Keith watched as Hunk nodded. The oldest man, Green Paladin, and Yellow Paladin ran out of the room, going to the pods.

“What about my village?” The Arusian asked as he glanced at them nervously, “We need your help.”

“I'll go check it,” Allura spoke as she clenched her fist.

 _I'll go with you._ Keith typed on his watch. Allura nodded as she left to get her armor on. The Arusian also disappeared. 

“I'll meet you at the courtyard.”

Keith watched her go before he quickly marched up to Shiro's side.

‘Let me help you carry him,’ he signed before taking hold of the Blue Paladin's left side. He waited for Shiro to nod before he lifted him up. With the two of them, Lance didn't seem so heavy. They walked in silence for a minute or two before they carefully sat Lance down in the hallway leading outside.

‘Shiro,’ Keith paused, debating what to say, ‘I...Stay safe.’

“I will,” the older smiled back, “You too, Keith.”

‘I will.’ 

They quickly hugged, non-verbally reassuring each other that they'd see each other again. All too soon, Allura rushed up to them, and they pulled away from each other. Shiro's expression grew serious in a way that screamed going into warrior mode. Keith knew he himself had a similar look.

He and the princess rushed to the village after that. Keith can taste the smell of smoke on the tip of his tongue before he see any. He can practically feel the heat of flames before he sees the actual fire. Sliding to a stop at the top of a hill where the Arusians have gathered, he gazes out at the village.

Fire blazes the village. Small explosions go off every so often, creating more sparks to light the flames. Keith can see some vague shapes down in the fire, and he doesn't know whether they are the attackers or if they are innocent people stuck in the flames.

He has to go investigate. 

He says as much to Allura on his screen before he leaps into the fray. He hears her yell at him to get back up there but he ignores it as he jetpacks down the steep slope. Upon landing on flat ground, Keith sides up to the nearest wall. The heat pours over him as the smoke flies passed him. Luckily, his suit and armor keep him safe and breathing as he glances through a melting window frame. 

**The sound of explosions were sounding off at random intervals. Keith ducked below the shack window as lights flashed. He thought he could hear screams off in the distance as he curled up, trying to hide. A strange growl echoed in his head as another explosion rocked the house.**

**The door opened with a bang, making him jump and twist around as fear spiked in his gut. He quickly grabbed up to nearest sharp object, part of a broken glass jar as the door quickly opened.**

**“Keith,” his dad rushed up to him, pulling him into a quick hug, “I need you to do something for me, okay?”**

**Keith was scared to talk as his pops pushed a knife into his hands, giving him a small smile.**

**“I love you, son,” he spoke as he stared right at Keith. Another flare went up as more sounds filled the air, “But I need you to sneak onto one of those ships.”**

**“Dad?”**

**“And once you get on there, make sure nobody sees you. Hide so no one knows you’re there,” Keith's fear grew as he gripped his dad's arm with his hand, “Your mother will find you.”**

**“But da-”**

**“Take the knife and get going,” Keith had tears blinding him as he hugged his dad again. Another blast rocketed the building as the older man took out a high-tech gun, face grim. Keith let out a tiny cry as he held onto the blade, almost too big in his arms. He ran for it, searching for the nearest ship. Time passed in a blur until he was only aware of hiding underneath something dark.**

**Glancing out a window, he took in the sight of drifting smoke and devastating fire.**

“Keith!” Keith was knocked out of his memories to someone shouting his name. It took him a bit to realize that he was breathing weirdly as he shivered, despite the warmth around him, “Keith! Are you okay? KEITH!”

Keith glanced around. He wasn't ten. He wasn't back on Earth. He was almost nineteen. He was on Arus, investigating a fire because-

Keith glanced up through the window. The flames made it a bit difficult to see, but Keith's eyes widened as the flames flickered down enough to see that it was all a setup. Sentries sat still up in the destruction. One even tipped over with a clank. None of them were actually functioning.

Keith rushed out of there. Pushing his jetpack to its limit, he jumped up the ledge as his heart threatened to beat out of his chest.

The castle was defenseless. This had been a distraction. Lance and Shiro were in trouble. Who knows what Galra had them. For all he knew, it could be Zarkon...or Haggar.

Not again. Never again.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, he was running back to the castle. Allura trailed after him in confusion as she asked him questions. He ignored them as he pushed onward. He could just see the castle when a purple light grew into existence at the top, spreading downward in a circular pattern. Keith pushed himself to run as fast as he could, nearly inside the courtyard when the barrier slammed down. Keith beat his fist on it, letting out an unheard growl as he smashed his other hand into it too. Forming his blade, he took a slash at it only for the blade to slid right off it. Not giving up, he jumped into the air a few feet before slamming the heel of his foot down on the shield.

It didn't give.

Shiro was in deep trouble. And Keith couldn't get inside.

“Oh no!” Allura shouted as she neared his right side, “They're trying to take off with the castle!”

The ground shuttered as the building vibrated. The dust flew into the night sky, obscuring the light of the moon. Keith grounded his teeth together sharply as he glared at the castle. When he got inside, he was going to shred apart whoever thought they could take off with Shiro.

If they touched him-

“Keith,” Pidge's voice startled him out of his darkening thoughts just in time for him to feel himself stop midway into transformation, “Princess. Are you there?”

“We're here, Pidge,” Allura spoke as he tried to calm down, “Where are you? The castle is being launched.”

“I'm inside,” the younger reassured them with a whisper, “But I don't know how to stop this thing from taking off.”

“I can help,” Allura started giving instructions to Pidge, but Keith's mind wandered. What if Lance and Shiro were captured? What if they were hurt more than they had been? What if they got away with the castle? What if it was one of the Galra he was more acquainted with? What if the druids get involved? What if they were involved right now? What if Shiro was hurt? What if Shiro was d-

 _Paladin, all will be fine,_ Keith paused as flames flickered softly in his mind, casting out his doubts and leaving only hope, _Your mate will be okay. You will protect him._

Keith didn’t even bother to protest about the mate part as he let out a deep breath. His lion had said just the right thing, reminding him just how important and close he was to Shiro. It should have set him off on another round of panic, but he only looked forward in determination. 

_Patience yields focus,_ the lion mimicked his best friend as he calmed down enough to start formulating a wild plan. Keith sent back feelings of thankfulness and a mental head nod to his lion, happy to have someone to lean on in times like this.

Glancing down at his watch, his idea took hold. Typing in random sentences, he made sure that it stretched on for quite a few lines, ones that would have to be read for a long time before the end came. He hoped he didn’t have to use this idea, but he got the feeling he would. Red echoed his feelings with some of her own, adding her agreement as if telling him that he was stupid and dumb and brave and smart and she wouldn’t stop him.

He smiled at that and tuned back to the princess just as the shield flickered out of existence. The ground shook one last time as the castle fell back down, once again unable to fly off. 

Exchanging glances with Allura, they raced back into the castle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may post the next chapter on Wednesday or Thursday. I'm excited about the next chapter honestly.


	8. Desperate Measures, Dumb Idea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the castle finally open, everyone rushed back inside to help. Sendak likes to gloat, the castle isn't really helping anyone, and Keith pulls a dumb stunt. But at least Red is there to help him through it all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, Lance, for inadvertently helping keep Keith's secret a secret.
> 
> Enjoy!

Keith ran up the stairs towards the engine room. He didn’t need his good hearing to know that is were the Galra were keeping themselves and his friends. Pidge had told them that there were only two live Galras, one of who had been taken out. So Keith didn’t have to worry for any ambush or secret attack from the back.

He rushed through the door and formed his sword just as they entered the room. Pidge was held tightly in the Galra’s - Sendak’s, Keith noticed right away - mechanical arm floating feet above the ground. The center of the room housed a purple crystal, powering the castle. To the far end of the room sat both Lance and Shiro. Lance was knocked out on his back, restraint-free. He looked no more hurt than he did when Keith saw him last, besides some blossoming bruises appearing here and there from the blast. Shiro, however, looked beat up. The Black Paladin was bent over with his hands cuffed behind his back. Keith nearly snarled as he took in the scratch marks on his armor. They were barely noticeable, but definitely newer ones. Another ugly detail stood out to him, one no one else in the room would notice, but Keith could.

The scent of burned flesh.

The static charge of electricity in the air.

Sendak had hurt Shiro.

A rumble went through his mind, not his lion. It felt less like fire and more like drifting in the calm of deep space. Keith knew it had to be the Black Lion, trying to reassure him that Shiro was okay. Keith didn’t believe the lion for a moment, knowing exactly how the electricity had to have affected Shiro. For all he knew, it could have brought up painful memories. Keith glared at the large Galra, wishing he could shoot fire from his eyes.

“Will you look at this?” The man smirked as he squeezed the Green Paladin harder, making the armor plates grind against each other, “Surrounded. What should I do?”

“Let my paladin go!” Allura shouted as Keith tensed.

“No, I’m going to keep ahold of this small paladin,” he smirked wider as he stared at them, “He is the one who killed Haxus. He’ll get a trial when I get back to Command Central with the Castle of Lions in my hands.”

The large Galra glanced behind him with contempt on his face, bored at the teen.

“The blue one will go to the labor camps,” Sendak counted off, “Doesn’t seem like a very skilled fighter. He wouldn’t last a minute in the Arena.”

Keith bristled as he stated that. Sendak turned back to them, staring at Allura again. He seemed to know something.

“The Yellow Paladin could be of use in the labor camps too,” the man smirked as he stared at them, “In a different one than the Blue Paladin, of course. A planned riot would not be good. And your adviser will probably become a personal servant. Zarkon does remember him well enough. Alfor's highest trusted friend.”

Keith glared at the man.

“And I’m sure Lord Zarkon will arrange something for you, princess,” the man grinned wickedly enough to make Keith shiver under his suit, “He is generous when he wants to. Although it may not be up to your usual standards. You may be shown off to the others. That may break any resistance.”

Keith watched from the corner of his eye as he saw Allura narrow her eyes, angry at the Galra. This is probably what she thought all of them were like, and that thought made Keith nearly growl. These guys gave the nice and reasonable Galra risking their lives everyday a bad name. Galra like this only hurt others.

“And the Champion,” Keith did growl this time as he took an automatic step forward, which Sendak didn’t notice because he was staring at the glaring Black Paladin, “Will be returned back to the Arena. He has shown his skill, and is a very worthy warrior. Perhaps someone can show him more _battle techniques._ ”

Keith felt ice in his veins. Battle techniques...Yeah, right. The half-Galra knew what that meant. It meant days of only getting water, food, and medical treatment at Sendak’s call. It meant getting so many bruises that skin was no longer tan in any spot. It meant almost dying from bleeding wounds all over because the Galra would think up millions of ways to torture. It meant sharp claws breaking through torn flesh and repeating the process right after the healed wounds scarred.

Keith wasn’t naive. He may never have had to interact with Sendak specifically, but he knew the gleam in the man’s eyes. He knew what kind of sadistic person he was from reports he heard eavesdropping in on Kolivan and the others.

“After all, a Black Paladin,” the man smirked at the huffing wounded man still glaring at him, “Lord Zarkon would not like that. But the title carries some weight to it. I think you’ll be my newest favorite _toy._ I'll break you yet.”

The monster laughed loudly as he crushed Pidge a bit more, making the teen grunt as the armor shuttered slightly at the force exerted on it. The Galra turned back to the half-Galra, looking at him from head to toe like he just noticed him. Keith had faced opponents and enemies bigger than Sendak in his time as both an Arena prisoner and a Blade. It wasn’t the size that chilled him to the bone. It was something...some type of blood-lust in the bigger’s eyes that startled him. 

No wonder Shiro had been scared to death of the other when he first appeared on the screen. 

“You must be the one High Priestess Haggar was telling me all about,” the man stared at him as he blinked and tensed in on himself, sword up defensively, “It is a mystery how you’re even alive still. The druids must have had fun with you.”

**Lightning...Quintessence...Wanted something about...Lion...Connection...**

“In the Arena as one of the top fighters, even with the tiny size,” Sendak scoffed as he raised a brow, “It was a shame we never got to see you and the Champion face off. You know, it was planned the day you two escaped and took off with the lion.”

Keith’s eyes widened for a second before they narrowed. But it was slow enough for Sendak to notice as he grinned.

“Champion didn’t tell you, did he?” The other chuckled as his floating arm drifted a few inches up, “And after I bring you back, he’ll never see you again. Haggar will want you back, I think.”

**Pain...Lightning...Fear...Energy...Stop...A growl in his mind...Gentle flames...**

“Quite frankly, I don’t get what she sees in you,” the Galra shook his head slightly, teeth all sharp, “But I don’t really care. You’re just a halfbre-”

The explosion came out of nowhere. Sendak dropped Pidge as he lurched forward, armor smoking. In the background, Lance had his rifle in hand. It deactivated as he fell back with a pained sigh. Keith froze as Shiro got to his feet weakly, stumbling about as he rushed at Sendak. If Keith had a voice, he’d have called out to the man as the large mechanical hand smashed right into him, throwing him into the wall with a small cry of pain. Something cracked within the older’s outfit, and Keith saw red.

He charged at the Galra.

Rushing across the room, he slammed his sword down on the other who tossed up his arm as a shield. Sparks flew as Keith pushed down with all his strength. Glancing everywhere, he noted an open spot as he kicked his foot out, catching the Galra three times his size off guard. The man grunted at the impact, thrown back a foot or two. Keith bolted straight for him, head not as clear as it should have been. And he paid the price as the same hand slammed into him, tossing him across the room to land on his chest, momentarily stealing his breath from him. 

Keith heard a loud roar of anger a second later as he got his breath back. Glancing up, he was surprised to see Pidge cut through the material that allowed Sendak to move his arm about. It sputtered out, leaving his mechanical arm limp on the floor.

“NO!”

The Galra tried to rush forward at the smaller paladin. Keith jumped up and pushed himself forward, slashing at the man before he could get to Pidge. Sending out another kick that was blocked, he watched as Pidge sent his taser cord right at the man, tangling into his armor and electrocuting him.

Payback.

Keith felt his rage grow at the thought of Shiro being hurt by this monster. Of Sendak touching Shiro.

Never again.

“Keith!” Allura shouted from the console as she tapped some buttons, turning to him, “NOW!”

Keith glared at the Galra in front of him. Before the other could react, he slammed into him, throwing him back closer to the crystal. Bringing his sword up to block the next blow, his arms shook as the Galra snarled at him, pushing down more.

“NOW, KEITH!”

Keith deactivated his sword and flew backwards as a container appeared from nowhere. Landing on his back, he was about ready to let out a breath of relief at the fact that the commander was locked down when the container flickered for a moment, fading quickly.

Keith could see just who the Galra was heading for first. He rushed right before a defenseless Shiro who couldn’t do anything other than stare on. Keith could just see him activate the arm, but it took too much energy to do so as he let out a cry, falling over whatever amount he had gotten up.

Keith didn’t waste any time. He slammed the button on his watch, launched it on the other side of the room where neither of them could grab it, and watched as the noise first sounded off, readying for what he had set up.

And then agony ran through him. 

His ears felt like they were being shredded from his body. Like small ants were picking off bits of his flesh, digging deeper and deeper as he writhed on his side. He could feel himself grab his ears as they began to ring strangely, low at first. The noise grew like the sound was nearing. Like someone was walking closer and closer and closer with a high-pitched alarm.

He curled up, burying his face into his knees as the sound continued. He could barely feel himself lose control of his form, flickering rapidly between both. He didn't even try to stop it as lightning raced through him from his head down to his toes, making him yelp. 

This hurt much worse than last time. 

Last time was just some burning in his ears. Now he felt like he was being fried inside out. He felt himself cry out again as another bolt of pain slammed into him. His claws dug uncomfortably into his hair, biting at his skin. His ears lengthened into points, making it feel twice as bad, but for some reason, he felt like he was under water.

“Hurting hi...wrong...Shiro...Sendak...stop him...cell...die...Keith!”

He could hear a few words, but his mind couldn't make sense of them anymore. His brain screamed as the sound became way more than he could take. He could feel himself biting through his lip, teeth razor sharp as he scrunched up more. His head pounded wildly as he cried out. 

**Lightning coursing his veins. Wicked laughter above his head. Claws holding his face, digging in enough to draw blood.**

Something touched him. Keith jerked back as he curled up further, mind racing too quickly as he panted.

**Something sharp sliding across his skin on his thigh. His mouth being wrenched open roughly as hands inspected his teeth and tongue.**

“Shiro!...Buddy...Shut off that quiznakin...Murder him…”

**The burn of foreign liquid in his veins as the needle stung his neck.**

“Dumbass...How to...feel better...fix this…”

**Feeling his energy drain like water pulled through a high-pressured pipe, centered on his head.**

Something trying to move his arms from his head as he held on with all he could.

**Restraints holding him down on a flat surface.**

“Keith!”

**Everything was dark and scary and he couldn’t hear or see or move or say anything and things were poking him and he didn’t know where the next one was coming from or what is was doing or where it was going to and he didn’t like this and he wanted his family and he-**

“What’s happening...Red Lion...Roars…”

**He wanted Kolivan or Regris or Thace or Antok or Ulaz! He wanted his mom! He wanted to go back home! He wanted his pops.**

“...castle torn apart...Lion...Hangar!...Paladin...”

**Something clawed at his mind, trying to scratch its way through his thoughts and memories. He fought as he felt it stab at him painfully, until it felt like knives were digging through his flesh and breaking his skull open.**

**“Give in!”**

_Paladin, come to me,_ a voice called out as Keith barely breathed, agony racing through him, _I’ll protect you again._

Keith didn’t even think as he rushed for the fire in the edge of his mind. The flames gently wrapped around him in a calming way, sending energy through him, almost like a soothing bath of warm water. It settled around him like a blanket as he gripped whatever had called for him tightly. He knew it wasn’t a physical force, but it felt solid enough in a way that was grounding. He could hear a small worried grumble in his mind as the warmth clothed him from head to toe. He let out a sigh of contentment as he relaxed into it. A low purr echoed around him, making him remember that he was safe. He could feel himself grow tired as his consciousness faded ever so slowly. 

_I am here,_ a voice spoke softly as he drifted more, _You are safe. Never again._

Keith slipped into the darkness, unafraid.

…..

When Keith came to, he was laying on something somewhat soft. Savoring the feeling of whatever was around him, he finally blinked. Groaning slightly at the feeling of his eyes being a bit dry, he glanced around. It took a moment to recognize his surroundings. 

He was in his and Shiro’s room, wrapped up in a blob of blankets. The sun had to be out, but the window was tinted enough to make the room a darker. It was pretty quiet in the room besides the sounds of the vents and breathing. Something warm was against his back, pressed comfortably to him and something light rested on his right side. Keith let out a small huff before snuggling into the black blanket. Settling down, the warm lump shifted slightly, just enough to call his attention to it.

“Keith?” Shiro's voice asked softly with concern, “Keith?”

Keith blinked again before twisting around weakly, stopping once he was on his other side. Now with his face to Shiro, he nodded. The man looked at him worriedly as he brushed his bangs back. Grey eyes stared at him fondly, but Keith could see the shine to them.

‘What's…’ Keith strained to get his arms working right, pretty exhausted, ‘Wrong?’

“Keith,” Shiro stated it sadder this time before he smiled shakily, “You don't remember?”

For a moment, Keith was frozen. Did something happen to the castle? How long was he sleeping? Or...was this all a hallucination? Was he still asleep?

‘Remember the castle,’ Keith frowned as he dug into his memories for any explanation, ‘Was taken over. The village attack...was fake...Sendak was in it...He was about to attack you.’

He could remember the moment the Galra had charged. Taking a long glance over Shiro, Keith thoroughly inspected the older over. The other looked okay, no bruises or scratches or anything that told Keith he was still injured. Keith's tail wrapped around his arm anyway, scared that it wasn't real. When his tail met actual flesh, Keith let out a big breath.

It was real.

Shiro was okay.

‘I remember seeing him try to attack you,’ Keith continued this time with more strength, ‘And I used the watch to stop him...I stopped him?’

“Yes, you stopped him,” Shiro nodded before rubbing his fingers through Keith's hair, “He didn't even get close to me. Thank you, Keith.”

‘I don't know what he's done to you,’ Keith signed before staring at Shiro with concern in his eyes, ‘But I'm not letting him hurt you ever again. I've heard enough that I think I have ideas.’

Shiro cringed, unconsciously resting his unoccupied hand over a set of old scars on his torso, one that Keith had seen before. The scars were smooth but painful-looking. Like sharp claws slowly tug their way through vulnerable skin. Keith nearly growled as he gritted his teeth, images of Shiro suffering like that while Sendak just laughed at his pain. 

“Keith,” Shiro anchored him with thumbs to his face, “It's okay. It was a long time ago. He won't bother me again.”

Keith wanted to argue that months ago wasn't that long, but he calmed as he nodded, agreeing with Shiro. A moment passed before he asked, ‘What happened after that? I know the sound went off. Had some...bad memories.’

“Well,” Shiro frowned before he gazed at Keith's tail on his arm, “You were stuck in the middle of flashbacks. The others got the barrier up to hold Sendak, and we got the watch shut off. But you were still...panicking, so we were debating how to help when Red started to roar and charge her hangar. You went into a trance after that. I guess you just woke up from it.”

‘Red saved me,’ Keith responded after a moment. A small rumble echoed through his head as Shiro's eyes gleamed a bit.

“Thanks, Red,” Shiro smiled softly as he gathered Keith to his chest. Keith let out a silent squeak of surprise before he relaxed into the hold. Keith grinned as he held the other tighter. He was glad they were both okay.

‘Did they find out?’ He wondered as he pulled back, plopping down on his side.

“No,” Shiro shook his head as he once again rubbed Keith's head, “You hid everything that wasn't covered by your armor and undersuit. No one saw. And when you went into your trance, you stayed in human form.”

‘Oh,’ Keith signed, feeling some relief and some apathy. He was glad they didn't find out during that, but he was getting more and more unsettled at the idea of his team not knowing. Everyone had secrets, but he was beginning to think he shouldn't hide his.

“Hey, don't think so hard,” Shiro chuckled as Keith raised a brow, “I know your I'm-thinking-about-something-too-intensely face. I agree that the others should know, but I don't want to risk your comfort too.”

‘They've become…’ Keith squinted as he looked to the side, ‘Friends? Haven't had those before?’

“I think they're getting there,” Shiro nodded before a noise distracted them both. They both turned to see Pidge at the doorway, watching them. The younger noticed that they now knew he was looking, so he moved forward.

“Oh, hey, Pidge,” the older man waved as the Green Paladin wandered into the room, “What do you need?”

“Just checking up on Keith,” he responded before his golden eyes moved over to Keith, “Hey, Keith. You feeling any better?”

Keith shrugged nonchalantly before nodding. He must have been getting better at gestures because the other grinned back.

“That's good,” Pidge's expression grew serious, “Because I'm gonna yell at you for a moment.”

Keith didn't even get time to process the words before Pidge glared at him.

“What were you thinking!” The younger teen exclaimed, throwing up his hands and waving around something in his hand, “You idiot! Why did you decide to resort to using the dumb voice software! You know what it did the first time! You had us worried! We thought you were dying! Don't do that again!”

Keith frowned before he signed sorry. Pidge's face relaxed as he took in the symbol. 

“Just tell me if you're going to do something stupid,” Pidge spoke as he smiled, “But we're happy you're okay.”

The smaller stood there for a moment, staring at them before he backed up to the door. He got to the door before pausing.

“But you're grounded from your watch for now,” Pidge glared at him behind gleaming glasses, even though the room was still dark, “I'm fixing the software so you can't pull this stunt again.”

And with that, the youngest left. Keith blinked as he watched him leave with wide eyes. A second later, he glanced at Shiro, eyes still wide before moving back to the door. Shiro just laughed.

“Pidge is just showing that we all care about you,” the older blinked, “In his own way.”

‘Huh…’

“I think you should expect all of them to do that,” Shiro laughed at his expression, “It won't all be yelling. For all I know, Hunk will give you his disappointed and sad look before baking you something to eat. And Lance is still in a pod, so he can't do anything right now. You'll be fine.”

‘There is an Altean who can throw me if she wants,’ Keith glared playfully at the human, ‘And you forgot to mention the Altean who knows this castle inside and out. He'll start sending me out doing cleaning work or something as payback.’

“Hmmm...I don't see them being the type,” the man snickered before he watched Keith, “But we are just worried. You're our teammate and friend. We're going to be scared any time you are in trouble or pain.”

Keith took a moment to think about it. He hadn't had anyone to worry over him...to care about him like this in years. He didn't quite know what to think.

But speaking of pain, some spiked through his lip. Keith brushed a hand over the spot but Shiro caught it before it could touch skin. 

“We need to tend to some places you hurt yourself,” he shrugged with an apologetic grin, “Couldn't really do it when you were in your trance. Think you're okay to walk?”

‘Yeah,’ Keith nodded as they scooted to the edge of the bed. Getting his legs underneath himself, he almost stumbled while standing. Shiro gently grabbed his arms before he could collapse backwards into the bed. Keith waved him off a moment later as his legs finally felt well enough to move on their own, ‘Thanks though.’

Shiro nodded as Keith started for the door. If Keith remembered correctly, the infirmary was nearby, but it was quite a walk away. Leading the way, Keith could feel Shiro just beside him the whole time, a constant but warm source of comfort by his side. Neither of them said a thing as they walked down to the room. When they entered the room, Coran was waiting for them. 

“Ah!” The man greeted them enthusiastically, “Number Four. It’s good to see you up and about again.”

‘Thanks?’ Keith signed as Shiro told the older man what he had said. The Altean just laughed as he looked him over, luckily not crowding him. Seconds passed before he messed with the table before him.

One of the pods opened.

Keith shook his head. He didn’t want a pod right now. He barely got out of Red’s safety, he didn’t want to have to go back right away. Red purred in his mind, calming him slightly as he took in a deep breath.

Shiro seemed to agree with him if his look was anything to go by. The man’s brows were scrunched downward and he shook his head too. Neither of them even remotely liked the idea of being inside a pod.

“A pod will heal you right up!” The man watched them. Neither moved forward, and Keith could feel Shiro take a quick step back. Keith himself didn’t so much as stare at the open pod, instead staring right at the orange-haired man who just sighed softly after a moment, “Alright, no pod for now. It’s fine, since neither of you have any life-threatening injuries.”

Keith breathed out a sigh of relief as he watched the man return the pod into the floor. A moment passed before the Altean stepped over to a cabinet filled with medicines. Digging through it, he stopped on the third item. Keith raised a brow as the man lifted out a small container filled with lavender salve. 

“I found you some ointment that works very well,” Coran brought the stuff to them as they both inspected it. Keith carefully sniffed it and was surprised at the sweetness of the smell, “It helps heal all kinds of contusions, including bruises and bites.”

Keith took the small container into his hands.

“And it also works well on sore and stinging muscles,” the older winked over at Shiro’s direction, which Shiro blinked at in confusion, “In the case that anyone gets really tossed around and gets some electricity passed through them.”

“I was going to-”

“That’s alright, Number One,” Coran smiled as he typed on another table, pulling up what might have been Lance’s pod’s data, “We all forget these things in the heat of the moment. Just know that is where the salve is whenever you need it. Now, I have to get a few things up and running for the castle’s launch in a varga.”

And then he rushed out of the room, practically skipping on his way. Keith watched him go, feeling a little weirded out by all the energy the guy had. Shiro only shrugged when he looked back at the other.

“I can help with that,” the older spoke as Keith dipped a finger into the lotion hesitantly. It felt really slippery, but the more Keith messed with it, the more it gelled up into a thick, invisible paste. Keith nodded as the other carefully rubbed some of the liquid on his lip. Expecting a sting, Keith was pleasantly surprised when he just felt some warmth as Shiro rubbed it in more. Relaxing at the feeling, Keith felt the other chuckle as he was led to the steps. Both sitting down, Keith could have purred at the feeling of Shiro’s fingers on his temples. Keith almost fell back asleep as they kept working the balm into his skin.

Sometime later, Shiro shook him awake. Keith drowsily opened his eyes - since when had that happened? - to see that Shiro was finished. The raven-haired man glanced at the container which was still half full. His best friend looked ready to get up, but Keith could see the stressed line of his wince when he moved to the side.

‘I’ll help you,’ Keith gently grabbed his arm before placing his hand into dripping lotion. Rubbing it in his hands, he kneaded it into Shiro’s visible skin on the back of his neck. The older began to relax into his side, and Keith hummed silently as he moved on. Knowing the other didn’t like others seeing his scars and that anyone could walk in at any time, Keith placed his hands under the man’s shirt, spreading the salve around before rubbing it in. Shiro let out a sigh of comfort as he slumped onto Keith, who took the weight. Keith just smiled as he listened to the other breathe, continuing with massaging the balm into the other’s skin.

That’s how they were when the castle finally launched from its post up into space, leaving the atmosphere of Arus.


End file.
